The Golden Stranger AU: Loss
by MegaKat
Summary: AU for TGS. Trunks is dead, fallen in battle, and Vegeta has been nursing a semi-comatose Usagi back to health for over four months. Will she come back to him and the Senshi, or will she crumble from the loss? Posted by popular demand. Angsty as crap in the beginning, yall. Get the tissues. FINISHED! WOOOOO!
1. Mourning

**And by popular demand, here it is! Trunks is dead! I actually teared up writing this in a few spots, so yall girls get your tissue boxes and break out the Haagen Daas. **

He'd thought the hardest thing he'd ever faced was his own death on Namek. He was wrong.

And then he'd thought it was the death of his future son. Wrong.

The death of the son he'd helped raise. Close, but wrong again.

Watching what the death of that son did to his son's mate… _that_ was the hardest thing he'd ever come up against, hands down. And if he couldn't bring her back soon, it was going to break him.

"Usagi." Vegeta sat the food tray down next to the barely touched tray from that afternoon before sitting on the side of the bed and shaking her gently. "Usa, wake up." She shifted slightly, and he knew she was awake, she was just refusing to acknowledge anyone… just as she'd done for weeks. "You can't keep doing this, woman. You've got to get up and face the world eventually. Trunks wouldn't want you doing this to yourself… or to his son."

And then Vegeta regretted his words the moment she turned her face to look at him and he saw the raw, unmasked pain in her eyes. With a sigh, he laid down next to her and drew her into his arms, his chest vibrating in a low purr, something he'd only ever done for Bulma, until the death of his only son. "I didn't mean it that way," he allowed. "But you do have to get up, Usagi. You have to eat. You have to survive."

The only indication that she was listening was the feel of her tears soaking into his shirt, and the way she trembled, clutching desperately at his back to pull him closer to her. "I know," Vegeta whispered. "I know. It's been hard on all of us." He let her cry for a long time before drawing her into a sitting position and drying her tears with the hem of his shirt. "Now, you need to eat."

Usagi shook her head sullenly, not even looking at the food tray as she pushed it away. But Vegeta wouldn't be defeated that easily, and he yanked her back as she tried to lay down again and bury her face in her mate's pillow. "Sit up," he growled, pulling the tray back over. "You're going to eat, woman. Whether you like it or not."

Vegeta didn't expect the sharp glare as she looked up at him; she'd been so docile, so easy to cow over the last four months that he'd feared her broken. But maybe… just maybe, if he played this right… "Don't give me that look, woman. Eat, or I'll shove it down your throat."

He could have cheered and pumped his fists in the air when her lip curled up in a half-snarl, and she shoved at him half-heartedly as he tried to hand her a spoon. "You'll lose, Usagi," he warned. "I'm not some pushover like my—" Vegeta bit down on his bottom lip before the word "son" could leave his mouth, but it was too late, the damage had been done.

That blank, utterly destroyed look was back in her eyes, and fresh tears were spilling down her face and into the soup on the tray. "Fuck," Vegeta sighed, drawing her to him once more, purring comfort for his daughter. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to…" He shook his head and kissed the top of her hair as he rocked her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Usagi. I'm sorry."

##################

"Any luck?" Bulma asked that same question three times a day, and every day for four months, the answer had been pretty much the same. Vegeta was the only one that ever had any luck with her for some reason, and her mate had refused to say why. It probably had to do with her time in captivity, and the way she'd find comfort in him if Trunks wasn't around to assure her that she was safe.

"I had her," Vegeta sighed. He set the old tray on the counter, sat on a bar stool, and buried his face in his hands. "I got her back, Bulma. For just a minute or two, she was there. That spark was back in her eyes, and she… and then I fucked it up. I mentioned Trunks without even thinking about it."

The blue-haired genius came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, trying to give him some measure of comfort. "That's a lot further than anyone else has gotten, Vegeta. What did you do to get her to come around a little?"

He couldn't help it when his lips twitched up in a ghost of his trademark smirk. "I pissed her off."

"Well, there's no one more qualified on this planet for _that_, is there?" Bulma snorted. She nipped at his mark when an idea occurred to her. "What time did you three usually get up for training? Four?"

"Yeah, why?"

Bulma managed a ghost of her own little smile before kissing him on the cheek. "What used to get a rise out of that girl more than **anything**, Vegeta?"

That smirk was back, only it was a little more genuine. "You're a genius, woman."

"I know. Just make sure you don't soak that pillow, or the plan will backfire, ok?"

Vegeta nodded, glad that she'd reminded him. If he accidentally ruined the scent of Trunks in that pillow that Usagi always kept her face buried in, all hell would break loose.

##########################

"Dende, please let this work," he whispered to the ceiling. Ready to resume his role as King of the Trolls, Vegeta silently stalked into what once was his son's room, yanked the pillow out that she had her face buried in, and proceeded to dump a half gallon of ice water on her head.

Usagi leapt out of the bed sputtering, coughing, and looking like a drowned rat. "Ass out of bed, girl, it's four fifteen, and you're late for training." Before she could do anything but just stare at him in shock, he yanked off her pajamas, leaving her shivering and naked, before drying her with his ki and handing her a sports bra and a pair of shorts. "You have five minutes to meet me in the gravity room. And Usagi… if I have to come back up here, you're going to seriously regret it," he growled.

Vegeta was amazed when she actually came downstairs to meet him, dressed in the clothes he'd handed her. She hadn't left the room in over four months, so seeing her in the gravity room was just a little surreal. He'd given her a few extra minutes, knowing she'd be late; he wouldn't have gone upstairs for at least a half hour if she'd decided to ignore his warning. "Coffee," he said flatly, pointing at the cup on the table. "Food if you're hungry."

He thought about pushing her to eat, but he decided not to. She was drinking the coffee at least, and she'd actually gotten out of bed. That was something. _Baby steps. _"You're out of practice, so we'll start with katas. Join me when you're finished with your coffee."

As he expected, she took her sweet time drinking her coffee, sitting on a stool and staring at the floor for nearly a half hour. But it surprised him when she actually got up on her own and came over to him without any prodding… or being dragged there, which he'd been prepared to do.

Usagi joined in on the kata he was already performing, flowing right into formation just like she had on that fateful morning, the very last time she'd ever come to the gravity room.

Vegeta nearly commented on her form and how it was a little off, but kept his mouth shut as he watched her movements grow smoother, less jerky, with every passing minute. She didn't even have her eyes open, which was saying something, at least. She was remembering, or trying to, and most likely also imagining that Trunks was on her right, just as he had been almost every morning for fifteen years.

He only spoke at the end of the warm-ups, and it was to order her to start over. "From the beginning this time. Your form's still a little sloppy."

Usagi cracked open her eyes, and as he expected, she looked to her right and blinked back tears. But yet again, to his sheer amazement, she didn't run away; she only closed her eyes and nodded, shifting back into the very first formation and beginning again.

"Spar?" He grunted, once they had finished. Vegeta bit down on his tongue when she shook her head, but found himself gaping a little when she walked back over to the table and began nibbling on some bacon. Well, he certainly wasn't going to stop her from actually eating something, not when she was ridiculously underweight.

"M—_Mom_?"

Vegeta and Usagi both turned their heads and looked at the gravity room door in surprise. And for the first time in over two months, Usagi actually spoke, her voice barely over a whisper. "Geta."

"Boy, I told you not today," Vegeta grunted, shaking his head. "Your mother's out of practice, she can't keep up with the sort of sparring we engage in."

But neither mother nor child was paying any attention to the crown prince, they were only looking at each other, drinking in the other's presence. Usagi licked her lips and swallowed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Come here."

Geta, proud teenager or not, was in his mother's arms in a flash, hugging her tightly and purring comfort as she ran her long, too-skinny fingers through his flame-like hair. "I'm sorry, too, Mom… I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," she choked. "I pushed you away, not the other way around. But I'm here now, Geta, and I won't…" Usagi swallowed tears, but couldn't keep some from spilling down her face as she held her boy. "I won't go back to the way I was, I swear it to you. Vegeta's right… Trunks… he wouldn't want this for me. He'd want me to move on."

If Vegeta saw the tears on his grandson's face, he chose not to comment on them; the boy had only been mourning his mother just as much as his dead father for the last four months, expecting her to shrivel up and die of a broken heart. Hell, they all had, and she'd nearly done just that. "You need to warm up, brat?"

"No, Paw Paw. I'm good," Geta said hoarsely, kissing his mother's forehead while he wiped away both of their tears.

Usagi merely sat there for a little while, watching her son and father spar, drowning in memories at the sight of him. God, he fought just like his father. Hell, he looked just like him, too. Not his features—other than the eyes, those belonged entirely to his grandfather—but his facial expressions and his fighting form screamed "Trunks." "He'd be so proud of you, boy," she whispered into her coffee, washing down the last of her second plate of food.

Vegeta blinked when the petite blonde floated over, arms folded over her chest, and called a stop of the spar. "You want to join in, girl?"

Usagi just nodded and powered up.

But when she didn't transform, Geta opened his mouth to say something, only to be sharply cut off by his grandfather. "That's high enough, girl. Keep it light today." And then in Geta's ear, "no, boy. Don't even mention Sailor Moon. Baby steps." Since the two of them hadn't even seen each other in over a month, Vegeta had them double team him, which wasn't even close to a challenge. If Usagi had transformed, she could have given Vegeta a run for his money unless he went to level three, and even then he would have had to watch his ass. In fifteen years, his daughter had become quite the crafty fighter.

Vegeta only worked her for a little over an hour, and called the match as soon as she started flagging, and was more worried about her lack of complaint than he was the pale, sweaty face framing those crystal blue eyes. "Eat something, Usagi," he grunted, as he toweled off her face. Old habits died hard; he'd charged himself with her care—all of her care, including bathing her—when she'd slipped into that semi-coma.

"I can wipe off my own sweat, Tousan," she said with a hint of amusement, mixed in with the gratitude. She hadn't been completely out of it as some would think; she remembered flashes of him, feeding her, washing her up, dressing her, brushing her hair… even reading to her on a few occasions. But mostly, she remembered him pleading with her quietly to come back to him, that he couldn't bear to lose his daughter as well as his son. "You won't lose me, too," she whispered, knowing very well that his superior ears would hear her.

"Good to hear," he whispered back, unable to stop himself from tugging her into his arms, wrapping his tail around her as he purred gently.

"Is this a private hug, or can another handsome prince join in?"

Usagi and Vegeta looked over to find Geta waggling his eyebrows at her, and both of them gave identical little grins to the younger Saiyan. "Prince of the fucking Trolls, I swear."

"Hand of God," Vegeta agreed with a chuckle, and shoved the boy onto his backside when he tried to teasingly hug his grandfather while making an "awww!" noise. "Touch me and I'll—"

"Final Flash, next dimension. We've heard it, Paw Paw." And when his grandfather turned his back. Geta grabbed his mother's arm and yanked her and Vegeta into a very brief embrace while he yelled "ROYAL HUG!", followed by a quick dart across the room to escape Vegeta's wrath. He grinned as he watched the older Saiyan's jaw twitch, and just barely tipped his head towards his mother, who was laughing uncontrollably.

That immediately softened Vegeta's features, and he simply huffed at his grandson, who he knew had done it simply to make Usagi smile again. "That was your one freebie, boy."

"Don't tempt me, Paw Paw. Next time I just might kiss you."

"And you'll find yourself missing a pair lips to kiss that little girlfriend of yours with… hm. Might make you prettier, though."

"Paw Paw… you do realize that you just called me ugly? I look like you."

"Shut up, brat."

Usagi only laughed harder at that exchange, nearly in hysterics from Geta's teasing grin and Vegeta's twitching jaw.

###################

It was a month before she could fly any distance without a spotter to make sure she didn't fall, but her son worked with her diligently whenever she wasn't training with her father or being forced by everyone around her to eat something. The Senshi came nearly every day, sometimes as a group, sometimes just one at a time. The most frequent visitor was Makoto, who brought all of her favorite foods, laced with protein powders and vitamins to build her liege's strength back up.

Mako's son came with her most of the time, likely at the insistence of his father. Piccolo had always cared for and respected Usagi as the Queen of the Stars, but he wasn't one to gush and check on her every five minutes. He'd already visited three times on his own, hugging her tightly in very un-Piccolo-like fashion before insisting that she was too skinny and needed to eat more so he could properly kick her ass in a spar.

"Pan turns sixteen today," Usagi remarked conversationally. She smirked and chuckled when Tantu turned purple and visibly trembled a little. "Oh, you'll be fine, honey. Did you ask Tousan about what to expect?"

Since he was nearly identical to his father, seeing that look of terror on his face was more than a little comical. "He said she was going to fuck my brains out."

"You need me to hide you? Or Geta, perhaps?"

Makoto laughed hysterically at that and shook her head. "Geta, that little prick… he already threw Tantu to the wolves once this morning by calling Pan and giving her his location."

"That's my boy," Usagi snickered. "Lucky that Kakarot taught you to teleport, huh, Tantu?"

He nodded sullenly. "I've been staying one step ahead of her, thank Dende."

"You know, brat, the longer you run from her, the worse it's going to be," Vegeta snickered from the doorway. "Don't be scared. It's just pussy."

"Tousan, give the boy a break!" Usagi laughed, when Tantu paled and shook his head. Her and Mako both gave him comforting pats on the shoulder, then all three of them jumped when Vegeta darted forward and pinned the Namekian's hand behind his back, ascended, and bound his wrists with a ki band, followed by a quick pulsing of his ki.

Mako and Usa just gaped at him. The message in his ki read "Pan, I have a birthday present just for you! Hurry up, before he breaks free." And then they felt Pan's ki flaring in response from the woods as she rose into the air and quickly began to close the distance.

"Now… the million dollar question… do we help Tantu break free so he can teleport, or do we sit back and watch the show?" Usagi asked aloud. She looked to the west when Pan ascended to Super Saiyan and really poured on the speed, as if she'd heard Usagi, and she was at the door, flushed and panting as she licked her lips at the sight of her chosen mate. "And now… I'll be getting out of the way," Usagi said flatly.

Makoto didn't however, and she brandished a spatula at the quarter-Saiyan. "You'd better play nice, Pan. You break my son, and I break your face. Understood?" When the girl nodded, she stepped out of the way.

Vegeta shoved Tantu into her arms just as the ki band broke from the Namekian's efforts to get free, and gave her a little grin. "Don't say I never gave you anything. Happy birthday, girl."

"Thanks, Uncle Vegeta," Pan said with a grin, before looking up at her much taller boyfriend. "Now, green bean… we can do this the easy way or the embarrassing way. Teleport us somewhere uninhabited," she ordered.

With a heavy sigh, Tantu put two fingers to his forehead, and they both vanished from sight.

"Well, it's certainly been an eventful morning," Mako chuckled, but when she turned, she caught the tears in Usagi's eyes. "Hime? Daijobou?"

"Hai," she choked. "Daijobou ka. I just miss him. He would have helped Tousan hold him down and hold him hostage for Pan."

Usagi leaned into the unexpected embrace from Vegeta, accompanied by that purr of his that she was so familiar with. "I'm alright, Tousan. Just missing him, that's all."

"We all do, girl," he sighed into her hair. "We all do."

###################

Gohan signaled for everyone stop when he felt a familiar ki approaching them, and turned his head to stare in amazement. "Usagi? Kami, it's so good to see you out of—I mean, it's good to see you," he corrected himself lamely.

"Out of my room, you mean," she said, trying for a light tone. "Here, Ami and Bulma said you guys would be hungry, so I brought lunch. How are the turds training?" The sight of them all, nearly grown up, brought a ghost of her old smile to her face. "Rissi, Goshen, Pan."

Pan was the first one to hug her, and then they jumped on her as a group, hugging her tightly, all three of them purring. "We missed you, Aunt Usa. How are you feeling?"

"I'm working on it," she replied softly. "I still have bad days. Where's Tantu?" She asked, wanting a change of subject.

"At home, recovering from my latest assault," Pan said with a grin. "You think he'd be used to lusty Saiyan sex after a whole month," she laughed, and only laughed harder when her father groaned something about not wanting to hear these things about his daughter.

"You've put some weight back on, at least," Gohan observed, also wanting a change of subject, taking in the sight of her toned arms and calves. "Is Vegeta force feeding you?"

"Sometimes him, sometimes Geta," she admitted. "Sometimes Mako. I… I still don't have much of an appetite, I'm afraid."

"Well, then maybe you'll help us work up one," Gohan suggested. "I was telling the kids all about your ki punches the other day. Maybe you could demonstrate?"

Usagi nearly refused, but the look that Goshen gave her, with those big puppy dog eyes of his father's, did her in. "Alright," she sighed.

Twenty minutes later, Pan and Rissi both had it down, Goshen was still working on it, and everyone out in the field was suffering from second degree burns on their palms. Usagi healed them all quickly though, except for herself.

"Ugh, those are pretty bad, Usagi," Gohan huffed. "Go inside and see if you can find some burn ointment. If you can't find it, ask dad, he's eating lunch in the kitchen."

"Hai, I'm on it." The house was fairly dark when she entered it, which was no surprise. Since Chi-Chi's passing, only Saiyan eyes ever really came inside, so Goku kept it dim since he didn't need lighting. It was a lot cleaner than she expected, though, probably thanks to Ami and Rei, who loved their father-in-law and had made every effort to be there for him, especially during that first six months or so of mourning.

That made her sigh and shake her head. Sure, Chi-Chi had simply died of old age, being seventy, but how in the world had Goku managed to move on with his life in six months? Vegeta had tried to explain to her once about Saiyan mourning, five years ago, right after Chi-Chi's death, but she hadn't understood it. "Probably never will," she admitted to herself.

"Usagi? Is that your ki I sense?" His low voice called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, burned my hands showing the turds that ki trick of mine. I was looking for the ointment?"

"Oh, it's in here, in the cabinet, hang on." There was some rustling in the kitchen, which Usagi followed, until she ran into a broad, muscular chest.

"Sorry, Goku, it's hard to see in here, you know. I should have watched your ki instead." She rubbed her head where she'd smacked into him, and blinked when he bent down and suddenly sniffed her neck. "What the—Goku, what are you doing!?" She yelled, shoving at him. She only managed to shove herself back, while he stayed right where he was, and she fell to the floor, tripping on her braid.

Goku blinked and immediately hit the light in the kitchen doorway before moving to her side. "I'm sorry, Usa, I don't know what I was doing. I thought I smelled… huh, I don't know _what_ I thought I smelled." He moved to help her up, but when her face rose, thoroughly annoyed with him, he blinked and froze in place at the hard jerk just below his sternum.

"What, Goku? Are you going to help me up or not?" Not only did he help her up, he also wouldn't let her go once she was standing, practically crushed to his chest. "Are you alright, Goku?" She asked gently. Then she felt it, that rumble in his chest that all the Saiyans seemed to be doing around her lately, a show of comfort for her loss. Usagi relaxed at that and hugged him. "I'm ok, Goku. One day at a time, right?"

"Yeah," he answered hoarsely, trying to rein in the beast that was rising up inside of him. The only thing keeping it at bay was the reminder that she was still in mourning, that she hadn't felt the pull yet, and she would immediately reject any advance and likely hole up in her room once more. No, he wouldn't do that to his mate, whether or not she knew she was his.

She would know soon enough, once she was out of mourning and felt the pull for him, too. "I'm glad to see you out of the house."

"Yeah, everyone else is, too. Especially Geta and Tousan."

He pulled away to study her hands, avoiding eye contact with her at all costs as he treated her burns with the jar of ointment on the counter. "How is your son? I've barely seen him."

"At university, mostly, since he graduated early. He got his smarts from…" Usagi licked her lips and swallowed. "From his father." She nearly cried when she felt Goku's hand squeeze her shoulder gently. "I'm ok," she assured him. "He's been helping Tousan get me back into shape every morning, so I've seen him a lot lately. He's a good son."

"Yes, he is. Trunks would be proud of him," Goku said softly, purring once more as he tugged her back into his arms.

"Yes, he would be," she agreed in a whisper. "I need to get home," she said hoarsely, still fighting tears.

"Come eat with me first. It would be rude to send you home without a full stomach," Goku insisted. If anything, it would be an excuse to see her, smell her, touch her. Enough to placate the beast without revealing this new development.

Usagi nodded reluctantly and let him lead her into the kitchen and fix her a plate, which she ate silently, looking out the window on occasion to see Gohan in the distance, still working with his daughter, niece and nephew. "They're getting so big," she finally remarked. "They've all gotten a lot taller since the last time I saw them."

"Saiyan growth spurt. I hit one at about sixteen or seventeen, same as them. Just wait until you see the growth spurts they'll hit in their twenties."

"More?" Usagi asked, coughing a little from her drink as she stared at him. "Geta's already taller than me and Vegeta."

"Huh, well… I heard that King Vegeta was really tall, maybe it's a throwback to that. Heh, he's going to tower over you, most likely. How's he doing with Rissi?" Goku suddenly asked, trying not to grin at the thought.

Usagi actually smiled at that, and Goku couldn't help but look at it and wish he'd make her do it again. "Tousan has been giving the boy his tips on women," she groaned and laughed at the same time. "He says that he won't rest until that boy gets him some pussy. He's just so fucking classy."

"My poor granddaughter… I've heard stories about Vegeta, and if Geta is doing what he did to get Bulma… shit," he huffed, followed by a laugh.

"Kiss that girl's virginity goodbye, Goku. My son is a pimp, just like his—" She sighed and shook her head, biting down on her lower lip. "Goku?"

"Yeah."

"When… when does it stop hurting?"

He moved around the table before he could stop himself, and drug her up into his arms once more, sitting in her chair with her on his lap. "It will, eventually. It took me six months before I could put my clothes on straight, but I'm Saiyan, even if I was raised human. It's different for us."

"Tousan mentioned something about that years ago." Usagi relaxed completely when he began to purr once more, and couldn't help but notice how wonderful he smelled. It was comforting and almost… alluring at the same time. "I can't even say his name without wanting to cry," she admitted.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I went through that, too. Or seeing things that remind you of them, especially smells. I kept one of Chi-Chi's hairbands for the longest time, and one of her shirts. I used to sleep with them."

"His pillow," Usagi whispered. "I'm amazed that it even still smells like him, but it does. It helps, to think he's in the bed with me, or that he's just out with Tousan, and he'll be back in a little while. Or when I'm training with Tousan, I close my eyes and pretend he's still on my right side, just like he always was. But then I open them, and Geta's there instead."

"I know it seems impossible, but it will get better. Just give it time, Usagi. Until then, you surround yourself with love," he whispered, nuzzling her shoulder. "Family, friends, whoever you can get. Just know that you don't have to bear it all alone. And… and if you feel like no one understands, don't hesitate to come find me."

"Thank you, Kakar—ugh, sorry. I've been spending too much time with Tousan," she chuckled half-heartedly.

"I don't mind you calling me that," he replied warmly. "After all, you're Vegeta's daughter, through and through." Truth be told, his inner Saiyan had purred at the sound of his real name coming out of her mouth, and wanted to hear it again.

#################

"Where are you headed, Mom?"

Usagi managed a smile, she felt lighter this week, as if talking to Goku last weekend had really helped her feel better. "Taking Goku some lunch, since he can't cook to save his life. Ami and Rei were out on patrol last night, so I thought I'd let them sleep."

"You've been talking to him?" He didn't really have to ask, when his mother had returned on Sunday, he could tell that she'd been crying, but she seemed different that day, too. Not quite as down, somehow. And since then, she'd seemed a little better with every passing day. Vegeta had noticed it and commented on it to his grandson as well, hopeful that Usagi was finally over the worst of her mourning for Trunks.

"I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. He… he went through the same thing. He's been a great comfort, Geta." Usagi frowned a little. "You don't mind, do you?" While her son didn't hold Goku in contempt like his grandfather, there was still Vegeta's influence at work. Goku wasn't his favorite person in the world.

"Dende, no!" Her son exclaimed, hugging her tightly. "Mom, you do whatever you have to do to make you feel better, ok? I've seen you smile lately, and you don't know how much we've all missed that. Paw Paw's even said something about it; you don't know how worried he was about you."

"Yeah, I do." Usagi stuck the basket on the counter in her subspace and gave him a reassuring smile, just as genuine as the first. "I'm trying to think of ways to make it up to him, honestly."

"Be happy. I think that'll be more than enough for Paw Paw, just to see you smiling again. He's told me that you're truly his daughter, just as much as Aunt Bra."

Not having words for that, Usagi pecked her son on the cheek and took off for the Son house, frowning at the storm clouds on the horizon. "Let's see if I can outfly them," she sighed, knowing that she was still so out of practice that she didn't a stand a chance.

Goku jumped a little, startled, when the front door banged open in the wind, and he heard footsteps in the foyer. "Usagi?" He asked in a mix of elation and surprise. Her ki was like a warm beacon of light for him, and he was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

A sodden flame. The Saiyan in him was licking its chops at the sight of Usagi in a white blouse and skirt that were clinging to her tightly, almost completely see through. Thank God she'd been wearing underwear, even though those were white as well. She wasn't wearing a bra, though, much to his beast's pleasure. "You flew in this?"

"Ugh, I thought I could outrun it," she grumbled, trying to peel some of the cloth away from her skin. But the moment she released it, it sucked right back onto her skin with a squelching sound. "Thought wrong, apparently. Hang on." Usagi flared her ki, and made a noise of annoyance when it didn't dry her. "I'm so out of practice, damn it. Could I trouble you for a towel?"

"Not at all," Goku answered slowly. For a brief moment, he'd been tempted to use his own ki to dry her, but his inner beast was delighting at the sight of her. When he returned with a large towel, he found her still flaring her ki at different levels, trying in vain to dry herself properly. She stopped trying and cussed a blue streak when her hair smoked a little. "Here."

Usagi immediately started toweling off the hair that wasn't dry from the attempts of using her ki, which was most of it, and when she started to dry her shirt, she realized that it wasn't hiding anything at all. She also realized at the same moment that Goku's eyes were locked on her chest, and turned bright red. "Sweet Selene, Kakarot, why didn't you _say _something!" She snapped. "God! Damned Saiyan men! Where's the bathroom?"

He numbly pointed down the hall, and she immediately stormed off, giving him a great view of her skirt clinging to that perfect, delicious round ass. That sight nearly had him breaking the bathroom door down to press her against the wall and take her, but he reined it in. "Wait until she feels it, too," he whispered, "then you'll know she's ready to move on. Just wait," he urged his beast. "You'll get her, just wait. Be patient."

His inner beast quelled for the moment, he waited at the end of the hall until she came back out, dressed in a pair of jeans and a tank top. "Subspace pocket," she explained, brushing her hair out. "First thing I do when I get home, is have Tousan reteach me how to dry myself again."

"When you were…" It took Goku a moment before he could think of a word that wouldn't upset her. "…unwell, you didn't dry yourself?"

Usagi's eyes were sad as she shook her head. "I… I don't remember much, but I know Tousan was bathing me, once the crystal stasis wore off, after the initial shock. I remember you coming to visit, though, at the beginning. Geta's been drying me every morning once I've dressed."

"Yeah, I came, but Vegeta wasn't letting any visitors stay for more than a couple minutes. He was extremely protective of you, scarily so. When Goten tried to sit on the edge of the bed, Vegeta nearly ripped his head off for getting too close."

"Really? God, poor Tousan," Usagi sighed. "I really should go speak with him; I've put the poor man through so much, when he was hurting just as much as I was. He lost his son, for God's sake. I should've been there to comfort him in return."

"Don't beat yourself up, Usagi." Goku led her into the kitchen, where he made her a cup of coffee, and plunked it down next to the basket she'd pulled out. "You lost your mate. In a lot of ways, it's a stronger bond than parent and child. You lose the mental bond, that closeness that you share, knowing you can talk to them at any time in your head… I don't have to tell you, you already know."

She was comforted when he wrapped her in his arms, resting his chin on the top of her damp head, and couldn't help but lean into him and breathe through her nose. God, he smelled so good, it was like the sun; bright and warm, mixed with a spicy musk that was unique to just him. It made her feel safe and loved, the same way she felt when Vegeta held her like that… only better, in a way. She could bask in that smell forever and die feeling secure…

God, what was she thinking!? Usagi opened her eyes, not sure when she'd closed them, and slowly drew back from the man her father called 'Kakarot.' She licked her lips and swallowed before speaking, feeling a strange sense of loss as she stepped away from him. "Sorry, Goku… I didn't mean… it's been a long time since I've been…held."

"It's alright, Usa," he said gently, turning to the basket to keep from looking at her. "I know what you mean. It's nice, just to have that human contact again." Handing her a plate, he dared to look into those crystal blue eyes, hoping to see her jump as she felt what he'd felt a week ago. "Usagi, I don't mind doing that for you, if it helps," he dared. "It helps me, too, you know."

"Goku…" Usagi smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. "You're such a good friend." She wiped them away with her forearm and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

Well, it was a step forward, at least. "Come on," he urged, nudging her towards the living room. "We'll eat in front of the TV. Bulma used to come over and hang out with me during those first few months and just let me hold her. I'm amazed that Vegeta didn't have a problem with it, but then, Bulma's always been my big sister."

"Huh, I was wondering where Bulma was going all the time… guess that answers it." Usagi plopped down on the couch and started flipping channels. "It's been a long time since I've even looked at a television," she admitted.

Goku didn't hesitate to placate his beast by sitting right next to her, hip to hip, while he chowed down on his lunch, and when he was finished, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Usagi couldn't help but lean into him when she finished as well. "You were right, this does help." She breathed a sigh of contentment and leaned into him just a little more, and smiled when he began to purr. "Thank you for this, Goku, I'm sorry if it's awkward or something for you."

"Not at all," he answered roughly, closing his eyes to get a handle on his Saiyan hormones. _Wait. Be patient, _he urged the animal inside of him. _It's too soon, you'll only scare the hell out of her and hurt her._ The idea of hurting her seemed to do the trick, and his beast settled down, content to just hold her for the moment, even if she only thought of him as a dear friend… for now. He'd change that soon enough.

Usagi opened her eyes to find that it was completely dark in the room, and with a flush of embarrassment, realized that she'd dozed off, lulled by that damnable purr and the sound of his strong heartbeat. Then she realized that she was lying down, tucked snugly against something warm and hard. She breathed in to ask if Goku was in the room, but the wonderful scent that hit her nose answered her question, and she blushed even harder.

She wiggled a little to get out of his embrace, but something long, thick, and fuzzy wrapped around her waist and jerked her against him once more just before his chest began to vibrate in a gentle purr. It seemed that she was stuck in this position unless she woke him, but he was sleeping so peacefully, she didn't want to wake him after all the trouble he'd gone to in order to make her feel better.

Then she noticed the pillow under her head, the lack of a couchback behind herself or him, and the blanket pulled up around them both. He must have carried her to the only bed in the house and snuggled down with her. Tears leapt to her eyes at his compassion, and she hugged him tightly, feeling his tail flex around her waist in return. "Goku, thank you," she whispered. "I… I haven't slept this well in… I don't know how long."

He'd woken the moment she'd tried to escape his embrace, and was surprised that she hadn't panicked as soon as she knew she was in his bed. "You're welcome," he whispered back, kissing her forehead, wishing it was her mouth. "Go back to sleep, Usagi, it's late," he urged, nuzzling his face into her hair.

"You… you don't mind…?"

Goku snorted at that and shook his head. "Not at all." God, if only she **knew**. "I'll IT you home in the morning, Usa. Just rest."

Reluctantly nodding, she rested her face against his chest once more and couldn't help breathing deeply and enjoying his scent again. God, he smelled so damned good, and it only seemed to get better and stronger every time she saw him. She could have sworn it wasn't as strong when she'd sat next to him on the couch, and she knew it just couldn't have been.

She started to doze again when she felt a huge hand trailing up and down her back in a gentle motion, lulling her back to sleep.

Goku managed to relax once more as soon as she was back to sleep, and unable to help himself, he bent his head to brush his mouth over hers. Oh God, why had he done that!? Too soon, damn it! Too soon! She tasted so damned good that the beast in him was begging for another taste, urging him to wake her back up with an onslaught of kissing and petting.

He couldn't keep from doing it again, this time flicking his tongue out to stroke her lower lip. "Mine," he breathed in her ear, quelling the beast once more with the sound of that word. "You belong to me, Usa. I'll keep you safe, I swear it. You'll never regret being bound to me." Allowing himself a taste of her shoulder, Goku shivered with pleasure when she gasped in her sleep and her hands clutched at his back, urging him closer.

With that kind of encouragement, he finally allowed himself to sleep as well.

But when he woke, it wasn't a pretty sight; well, it was at _first_, when he woke to find Usagi still sleeping in his arms, holding him tightly, and smelling absolutely wonderful. But then he opened his eyes and found himself looking right at her father, who was staring at him with murder in that terrifyingly black gaze.

Goku glared right back, the Saiyan in him rising up at the sight of another male so close to his mate, and his lips curled up in a possessive snarl. "Get out," he whispered, not wanting to wake his woman.

"You're a dead man, Kakarot," Vegeta replied, just as softly. "What the fuck are you doing with **my daughter** in _your bed!_?"

"She is **mine**," he growled. Goku looked down when Usagi began to stir ever so slightly, and ran his hand up and down her back soothingly. "Still dark," he breathed in her ear, "go back to sleep."

"M'kay," she answered tiredly, tightening her arms around him.

Eyes still locked with Vegeta's, Goku mouthed, "Out."

"No!" Vegeta mouthed right back, his ki flaring indignantly. Kami, if Usagi hadn't been right between them, he would have been pounding on Kakarot like never before, but he was not going to risk upsetting her when she'd only just come back to him. "Did you mark her?"

Goku shook his head, losing the glare for a moment. "Too soon," he replied silently. "I won't do that to her."

"You won't do it, period," Vegeta replied, also just mouthing his response. "You claim my daughter, I rip off your balls, Kakarot."

Goku snorted and rolled his eyes at the Saiyan prince. "You really want to do this _now_, Vegeta?" He barely whispered. "Because I know you don't want to risk upsetting her any more than I do. I can hardly help it that I felt the fucking pull."

"Later," he growled quietly. "And if I catch you with her like this again, I _will_ Garlick Gun your balls."

He only rolled his eyes again and tugged the covers back up around Usagi's shoulders, breathing in her light and pure scent in an effort to calm himself. When he looked back up, Vegeta was gone, and his ki was already halfway between his home and Capsule Corp. Well, today was certainly going to be interesting.

**This is probably going to be a double or triple shot, nothing horribly long. I'ma have to change my poll, too. You see, two of my very awesome friends (Ana and Selena A) kinda inspired me to be my trollish, disturbing self, and I wrote another version of this where she winds up with Vegeta. BWAHAHAHAHAHA… Let me know if yall wanna read that one, too. It's not quite as sad, and Usagi doesn't go through such a soul-destroying depression since she has to be there for Vegeta due to Bulma's death as well. **


	2. For Your Own Good

**Next chapter people! WOOO! Will Goku get some? Read and find out. :D And to all of those that reviewed, thank you! Yall know how much I appreciate your comments and support!**

"Vegeta, what's wrong?" Bulma asked in confusion. She could feel his anger and even a little bit of fear through their bond, and that mixture never boded well for whomever was the cause of it.

"Kakarot," Vegeta spat, "has felt the pull."

Bulma's face lit up with glee for a moment, until she put two and two together. Goku had chosen a mate… but Vegeta was upset about it. She suddenly groaned and rested her head on the counter. "Usagi… she didn't come home last night, did she?" She asked, almost in a whine.

"He hasn't marked her yet, and she's still in mourning, so I know she hasn't felt the pull for him. So there's a chance that if we just keep them separated that—" Vegeta stopped and scowled when he felt his mate laughing at him through the bond. "You think this is funny!?"

"Oh, God, honey. Come here. Just come here." Bulma wrapped her arms around him and bit down lightly on his mark, running her hands through his upsweep of hair. "You know just as well as I do that if we try and hide Usa from him, Goku will show up all caveman and rawr, steal her away, and claim her. Probably before she's ready. This is a delicate matter, Vegeta," she added gently. "And it sucks, especially for you, because you don't deal with delicate matters very well," she added with a wry smile.

Vegeta had to admit that she was right. "If I say something to Usagi, I risk her going back to the way she was. If I don't… GOD! Why did it have to be KAKAROT!?" He roared, splintering the surface of the bar with his fist. "ANYONE but HIM!"

"You'd have her fall in love with a non-Saiyan, after all she's been through? You'd really want her to outlive another mate?" Bulma thanked Kami that that would never happen to them, a wish to Shenron years ago had ensured that she would live and age just as Vegeta did, and die when he did as well. He'd been through so much in his life, she just couldn't bear the thought of him losing his mate, and she equally couldn't bear the thought of not having him in her life.

"No, but couldn't it be another Saiyan? ANY Saiyan!? _**Anyone**_ but that infernal Kakarot!"

"Oh… I wasn't aware there were any other available males, Vegeta my dear. Except for Goshen and her son, of course. But don't you think Goshen's a little young for her…? And he's Goku's grandson."

"Yes, but he's not **Kakarot**," Vegeta sputtered in disgust, letting his mate soothe him with a hug.

#########################

Goku stopped in midair when Vegeta suddenly appeared in front of him, arms folded in front of his chest, blocking his way. "Seriously, Vegeta? You _really_ think you can stop me from paying her a visit?"

"Yes. I do," Vegeta answered simply, cracking his knuckles and popping his neck as he ascended. He wasn't surprised to see Kakarot go straight to level three and peak out his power in a clear message to get the fuck out of the way.

Fine, if it was an all-out brawl the third-class idiot wanted, so be it.

Goku waited—almost politely—for Vegeta to top out as well, and for the first time ever in one of their fights, he struck first, sending his opponent flying wildly for a moment before he righted himself in the air. "Just remember," he growled, "I warned you, Vegeta. She's _mine_."

"Not if I kill you first!" He cried, shooting through the air to collide with the larger Saiyan in a flurry of blocked kicks and punches. Vegeta knew that this fight was serious, could even result in one of their demises, and was pulling out all the stops. There would be no holding back in this fight to keep his precious Usagi out of his rival's bed.

Goku grunted in pain when Vegeta used his daughter's trick and engulfed his hands, knees, and feet in concentrated ki and began to bring the pain with every blow he managed to land. And when a fist connected with his stomach, burning right through his gi, the taller Saiyan rocketed towards the ground and found himself dodging a Garlick Gun while trying to right himself in the air. "So, it's gonna be like that, huh?" He growled.

"You stay away from my daughter, Kakarot!" Vegeta screamed in reply, as he powered up a large amount of ki between his outstretched hands, just as Goku's hands went back by his side, a blue energy ball building rapidly.

"Don't make me do this, Vegeta!"

"Fine, I won't! Go home and never presume to look at or touch my daughter again!"

"She's my _**mate**_, damn you! **MINE**! And I _**will**_ claim her when she feels it, too!"

Vegeta snarled at that statement and poured even more ki into his hands. "You asked for it, Kakarot."

"Fuck… he would take this to the extreme," Goku muttered, leashing his inner Saiyan. He didn't want to kill Vegeta, to be responsible for giving his mate even more pain than she'd already endured, so he matched his ki level to Vegeta's and made sure that his blast was only a little stronger than what was about to head his way. He'd knock him out, that's what he'd do. "KAME…"

"Kakarot, I'm warning you! This won't end well!"

"HAME…"

Oh **fuck**, he really _was_ going to do it. Surely, Kakarot's beast was fully in control… and Vegeta knew all too well that the beast—any of their beasts—**never** played. The prince rapidly threw everything he could into the blast between his hands, since he'd been sure that his opponent was merely bluffing. Damn it, he should have known better, or at least anticipated that he had to truly go all out. Yet again, he'd underestimated Kakarot. But never again. "FINAL FLASH!"

"HAAAA!"

Unable to see through the blinding flash that rocked the sky and blotted out the sun, Goku searched for his opponent's ki… and when he didn't find it, his heart skipped a beat. Not because he'd killed Vegeta—his beast had way too much control for him to give a shit about that pretentious royal prick—but because the death of the Saiyan prince would absolutely destroy his mate.

Usagi. That was it. He had to find Vegeta's body, feed it his ki, and bring him back before it was too—

Goku felt a sharp flash of pain in the back of his head before he couldn't finish that thought, and for a little while, he thought no more.

Vegeta scowled down at the unconscious body of his arch-nemesis, and for a long moment he considered finishing the job. But no, he decided, cradling his scorched left arm, he couldn't do it. All these years of wanting to kill Kakarot, and he simply couldn't do it. Sure, he could likely make it look like a believable accident and get away with it, but his stupid fucking conscience wouldn't let him do it. He _had_ bested him in battle, though. That was something. That he could live with.

Now he just had to come up with a believable lie when he showed up at Capsule Corp and sought out Usagi for a healing. He'd barely dodged that damned Kamehameha Wave in time, and despite being temporarily blinded by the impact with his own attack, he'd looked for Kakarot's ki and had darted in behind him with a sharp blow to the head. He flexed his fist and shook it a little, huffing at the feeling of cracked bones. Damned third-class blockhead had a skull made of fucking rock.

########################

"Girl."

Usagi immediately turned at the smell of burned flesh, rather than the sound of her father's voice, and caught him before he hit the floor. "Sweet Selene, Tousan, what happened!?" She cried, already flooding him with her healing light to heal the damage.

Vegeta considered lying through his teeth, but in all their years together as father and daughter, he'd never lied to Usagi, and now found it impossible. "Sparring with Kakarot."

Usagi froze at that. She hadn't felt Goku's ki anywhere… Goku would have surely IT'd Vegeta home after such a heinous injury… right? "Where is he, and how bad's the damage?" She asked urgently.

"He'll be fine," Vegeta ground through his teeth. "Leave the bastard where he is." As soon as Usagi finished healing him, he stripped off the ruined gi top and threw it in the trash, but when he turned to address his daughter, she was gone, her ki headed back the way he'd come. "Fuck!"

Usagi homed in on Goku's ki, tears pricking her eyes in her alarm as she felt just how low his energy signature was. Much lower, and she wouldn't have found him. He was out cold when she landed next to him and immediately filled him with her ki; if the damage was as bad as Vegeta's, she was going to be severely drained afterwards… unless she transformed. "No, I've got this, damn it," she huffed.

Her eyes went wide and filled with tears when she found the damage in his skull, flashing her back to her mate's death in the city. "No," she gasped, "no. No, Usagi. Breathe," she choked out. "This is not the time… it's not a bullet wound, his brain's still intact, and he's still here. He's not dead already. You could do this in your sleep." Usagi couldn't stop the tears, but she managed to focus just enough to fill him with her light and heal the bleeding on his brain, the swelling, and the broken piece of skull where Vegeta had hit him. "Please, Kakarot," she whispered. "Please."

Her mind automatically shifted to the dragon balls if she couldn't save him, just as it had when her mate had been killed, and she mentally kicked herself for even thinking of them. They'd been deactivated for years, ever since Piccolo and Dende had decided that it would be better not to have them.

"Don't cry."

Usagi's eyes opened just as Goku's hand reached her face and cupped it gently, stroking over her tear tracks with the pad of his thumb. "Don't move," she said gently, "I'm not quite done, yet. Still healing some of the damage. Do you remember everything ok?" She asked hoarsely, swallowing more tears.

"Yeah, Usa. I'm fine." He sat up when she signaled that she'd finished, and caught her when she swayed. "Ugh, you should have transformed, Usagi. I'm assuming you healed Vegeta when he showed up. I'm amazed he even told you where I was."

"He didn't. I came looking when he cursed your name and decided to leave you for dead," she replied, a tremor running through her body as the tears started afresh.

Goku held her tightly and purred comfort to her as she cried, smoothing his hands up and down her back, whispering gently that it would be alright, that he was alright. But when the tears didn't stop right away, it greatly worried him. "Usa… shh… why are you crying, huh? I'm just fine."

"Y—Your head…" Usagi's fingers trailed up to gingerly touch the back of his head where the blow had landed, then quickly jerked them away, as if she was terrified that she'd find them covered in blood and brain matter. "T—Trunks… he…"

Dear Dende, she was already traumatized enough as it was; it was amazing that she hadn't just had a relapse as she'd very likely relived Trunks's death in the span of a few moments. "I'm not going anywhere," he breathed, resting his forehead to hers. "You saved my life, Usagi. You did good. Trunks would be so _proud_ of you for keeping it together, and I am, too."

She continued to cry, but her sobs no longer had that scary edge to them that had worried him so much, and he moved to cradle her head to his neck so she would breathe in his scent. His mate didn't even know she was his mate yet, but he knew that his natural Saiyan musk, unique to only him, would help soothe her ragged nerves and give her some peace.

When he blinked open his eyes after a few moments, he found Vegeta glaring at him from ten feet away, his ki pushed so low that neither of them had sensed him. "No," Goku mouthed, his glare sharp and unforgiving. "Not right now, you've done enough damage for one day."

Vegeta merely pointed at Goku, then drew his finger over his own throat in response. "Your balls. My mantle," he replied just as silently. Then he took off, headed back for Capsule Corp.

"Come on, Usa, let's get you cleaned up and something to eat," Goku suggested gently, his hands now stroking her neck and spine, wishing her hair was down so he could feel his fingers running through those enticing golden tresses. Well, he also desperately wished that he could soothe her with some lovemaking… but wish in one hand and shit in the other.

Putting his fingers to his forehead, he immediately IT'd them to his home, and shot a look at his oldest son when he tried to approach them. Gohan had never seen that look directed at himself before, but he knew it meant business… and pain for any who crossed the strongest warrior on the planet. "Out," Goku mouthed. "Now."

Gohan didn't need to be told twice and immediately left, heading straight for Goten and Rei's, where he'd left his own mate. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong… either with his father, or Usagi, or both, and he was fairly sure that he was going to need backup if he decided to return to the Son house.

"Talk to me, Usa," Goku whispered tenderly, stroking a few loose locks of her hair back from her face. "Stay with me. Don't go away like before, Usa. We need you." _I need you. _He wished to Dende that he could say it, but he knew all too well that he couldn't say those words without tipping her off.

His words didn't seem to get through to her as she simply continued to cry into his gi, keeping her eyes tightly shut as if she were afraid of what she'd see, so the Saiyan hefted her into his arms and carried her to his room—which reeked of his scent—and carefully placed her on the bed. He felt a flash of relief when he tried to leave her there and she clutched at his gi, shaking her head violently and pulling him down to her side. "Shh, beautiful. I'll stay. I won't go anywhere, I swear it. You're safe with me, Usa. Nothing will hurt you when I'm with you. Ever," he added with a hint of a growl, straight from his inner beast.

###################

Not having much to explain other than a gut feeling that something was seriously fucking wrong with his father, Gohan led the pack back to the Son house, and he was frankly scared shitless to find it silent.

"Bedroom," Goten muttered. "He's in there."

"But where in the hell is Usagi?" Rei whispered, searching in vain for her princess's ki. It simply wasn't there. It was as if she were just… gone.

"Shit," Ami gasped, pushing past them all to open the bedroom door without knocking. When Goku turned his head and bared his teeth at her, she bared hers right back and stepped forward. "Where is she." It wasn't a question, since she knew damned well where Usagi was at; Goku's ki was simply so high that it was masking the energy signature cradled in his arms.

Faced with a pissed off female, Goku's beast backed off a little, not completely sure what to do. He was unmated, so she shouldn't be entering his bedroom, especially uninvited. But she was family and mated, so she was exempt. And she was female. If she'd been male, Kakarot would have lost his shit and attacked. "She's here with me." He held up a finger to his lips when she tried to speak again, and shook his head. "She's sleeping. I won't leave her," he added firmly. He rolled a little to show Ami the sleeping princess snuggled up to him on the other side of his massive form, her face stained with tear tracks from all the crying.

Ami, ever the great peacemaker, knew she wasn't dealing with her father-in-law. Well, at least not that gentle, rational side of him that she knew so well. "I understand. Take good care of her for us, Tousan."

"I will," he promised. "I'll never let anything hurt her."

"Would you call me when she wakes? I just want to make sure she's not hurt, Tousan." The goddess of wisdom waited while the Saiyan in him seemed to consider this. "_**Is **_she hurt, Tousan?"

After a few more moments, he nodded. "In here," he answered, holding his hand over his heart. "She mourns."

"Call me then, when she's awake, Father," she said in that doctor tone she used when she knew someone was about to argue with her. Relieved when he nodded, Ami left the room and quietly closed the door. She took a deep breath before leading them all back outside and looking at her mate. "We have a problem. A very, very big problem."

"She was in there, wasn't she?" Goten asked nervously. "Fuck!" He yelled, when Ami nodded and sighed helplessly. "Fuck _fuck_ **fuck**!" He yelled at the sky.

Rei immediately moved to comfort her mate, but he was too quick, ascending to level two before he shot into the air. "Damn it all to hell," she sighed. _Goten, come back. Don't leave me._ The goddess of war was relieved when he flared a message back at her with his ki, one that they privately used to indicate that they needed a minute.

"Just wait," Gohan said gently, squeezing his sister's shoulder. "He was the closest to Mom. He'll need a minute to adjust to the idea of Dad taking a mate."

"We don't know that for sure," Rei snapped. "He could just be concerned for her, Gohan. We _all _are."

"No," Ami said flatly, leaving no room for argument. "He's staking his claim, Rei. A non-related woman doesn't enter an unmated Saiyan warrior's room. Unless she's his mate. I pay attention to my mate," she added, when Rei gave her a look that clearly asked how in the hell she knew that.

"I don't suppose making his favorite dish and giving him head for an hour will make this any easier for him," Rei sighed. "It was a joke," she sputtered, when Gohan glared at her. "A bad joke, ok. I get it. Looks like I'm on snuggle and tail-petting duty all night. He really still misses Mom. A lot. In the meantime, what do we do about Usagi? Oh God… does she _know_!?"

"I… I don't think so," Ami said hesitantly. "There was blood on Tousan's gi, at the neckline…"

"Dende… call him, Blue. Just go ahead and do it now," Gohan sighed.

"Call who!?" Rei snapped. Call someone, shit!? Point her to whomever was responsible for the blood, and she'd give them all a nice little barbecue for supper.

"Vegeta," Ami said patiently, pulling out her cell phone.

Rei froze at that and shook her head. No barbecue tonight. Then it dawned on her and she groaned. "Sweet Ares, I'm getting as dense as Goten! Vegeta knows, beat the shit out of Dad, Usagi healed him and passed out because the injuries were bad, and Dad brought her here. And now his beastie's got its back up in defense of his mate."

Gohan tapped his nose a few times while Ami waited for someone at Capsule Corp to answer, and grinned at Rei when she gave him the finger.

##########################

For the second time in as many days, Usagi found herself waking to that wonderful, calming scent of a pure-blooded Saiyan male, coupled with the gentle vibration of a low purr running into her body. "Tousan?" She whispered sleepily. When the purring immediately ceased, she breathed in again and caught a warm, spicy, tone to the scent that inexplicably made her smile. "Mm… Kakarot," she sighed. The purring started up again with a newfound fervor and she snuggled in closer to him. "You smell really good, you know that?" She mumbled.

"And what do I smell like?" He asked with amusement.

"The sun," she sighed dreamily.

Goku wanted nothing more than to kiss her then, but he restrained himself. Just barely. "Funny, since you're the moon," he thought aloud, his tone infinitely serious. She smelled like it, too. Soft and clean and bright.

Usagi just snorted at that and shook her head. Then she stopped and blinked. How had she gotten here, exactly? Then it hit her. Goku's head injury. Vegeta… "Trunks," she gasped, sitting up straight in bed.

Goku immediately wrapped her in his arms when she began to tremble, but she jerked away sharply, her gentle fingers turning his head so she could inspect the area that had been caved in. Usagi relaxed then and sagged into his arms, quietly crying in relief. "You're ok."

"Of course I am," he assured her, tipping her chin up so she was looking him in the eye. He kissed her then, a very short, gentle—and most importantly, chaste—kiss, and then rested his forehead on hers. "You saved my life, Usagi. Thank you." It was his turn to blink when she scowled and pulled away from him. "Usa?"

"Tousan," she snapped, clenching her fists. "Take me home, Kakarot. I have a royal ass-kicking to deliver."

"No," he growled, switching moods faster than a pregnant woman, "you're weakened right now, and you're not fighting with Vegeta until we get your ki level back up. You blew a lot of it healing me." Goku quickly scanned the house, and finding it empty, he scooped Usagi into his arms, ignoring her insistence that she could walk on her own, and sat her gently on the couch. "I'll get you something to eat. Stay put," he ordered. When she tried to stand up, he snarled at her and physically forced her to sit back down. "Don't push it, woman."

Usagi sagged into the couch, defeated, and fought the urge to cry again. "You'd think after all this time, I wouldn't have any tears left at all. But here they are."

Goku immediately returned and wiped at her face after setting some food on the coffee table. "Don't cry, Usa. And I'm sorry for being… cranky."

"Tousan tends to bring that out in everyone sometimes," she sighed. "What… what did you two fight about?" They hadn't fought like that in years, not since Chi-Chi had died. Goku had been so caught up in his grief that he'd challenged Vegeta to a no-holds-barred match, knowing that the Saiyan prince would jump at the chance to finally fight his rival in a _real _fight.

Only, when it had come down to ki blasts, Goku had powered down to almost nothing and had taken a Big Bang Attack to the chest. His Suicide by Vegeta had nearly been successful, but the prince had been so pissed at Kakarot's attempt to 'let him win,' that he'd rushed him straight to Usagi, who had healed him. Vegeta had then demanded a rematch, and snarled at Goku when he'd given him a defeated look.

He'd then sparred with him nearly every day after that, both in a mixture of sympathy for his loss, and a determination to keep him alive so that he could take him out in a fair fight one day in the future. The prince would _not_ have his victory handed to him on a silver platter, damn it.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Goku snapped, immediately regretting his tone at the hurt look in her eyes. "It's a personal matter," he added gently, stroking his knuckles over her cheek. "I didn't mean to snap at you, Usa." Turning to the coffee table, he handed her a plate of pizza, her favorite. "Eat."

Usagi did as she was told, but halfway through her fifth slice, she noticed that he hadn't once taken his eyes off of her the entire time. "Goku, I'm _fine_," she sighed. "Really, I am. Why don't you eat something, too, huh?"

"Not hungry." In truth, he didn't want to be distracted; he could feel Gohan's ki outside, lying in wait for his father to emerge, and he was keeping an eye on it in case his son decided to walk inside and spill the beans. Goku didn't think he'd do that though; Gohan was a smart kid, and Ami was with him in case he needed a voice of reason handy. Surely they knew that if they said a damned word to Usagi, Goku would destroy them all for upsetting her.

"Goku… why are Ami, Rei, and Gohan all waiting outside? Why aren't they in here?"

Goku groaned a little and shook his head. "I got a little snappish with Gohan," he admitted. But that was all he was admitting, damn it. He couldn't tell her. She couldn't know; he wouldn't have her retreating like he'd been terrified of only a couple hours ago.

Usagi looked to him in concern, her hand reaching over to grasp his. "Why, Kakarot?"

"Ugh… I… you had just saved my life, Usagi. I was feeling very overprotective of you in your weakened state. Still am," he added with a growl. It wasn't a lie, at least. He didn't want to lie to her if he could help it.

She snorted and rolled her eyes at that as she muttered something uncomplimentary about Saiyan men, before finishing her fifth slice and diving in for a sixth. "Two slices left, Goku… you'd better get in on this before I eat it all."

"Your appetite's getting a little better, at least," he remarked teasingly. Goku blinked when she picked up another slice and held it out; he wanted to concentrate on watching the kis around them, but it was incredibly rude to refuse food from your mate… even if she didn't know she was his, yet.

He took the pizza and devoured the slice nearly whole. "Happy?" Goku rolled his eyes when she hand him the last slice, took it, folded it in half, and chewed maybe three times before swallowing it in one shot.

"You are such a pig," Usagi snorted in a mixture of amusement and wonder. It never ceased to amaze her how fast they could eat _anything. _Well, ok. They didn't eat _everything _fast, as Trunks had once pointed out to her with a waggle of his eyebrows. She giggled at that, then stopped herself, feeling both relief and guilt.

"What?"

"I… I thought of Trunks. But… I didn't cry," she admitted a little sadly. "Huh."

"Well, I don't think Trunks would want you to cry every time you remembered him. He'd want you to think about the good times, too, Usagi. And I know there were a lot of good times. What made you think of him?" Goku waited, and when she blushed and told him, he burst out laughing. "Oh, it's true," he said with a grin and a waggle of his own eyebrows, much as Trunks had done. "I for one am _anything _but fast in that department."

Since she was privy to all sorts of nasty comments from the pack of Saiyans that constantly surrounded her, Usagi had no idea why she grew even hotter at that proclamation. "Um… good to know," she stammered, her face growing redder at the little smirk on his lips.

"Why, Usagi, I do believe I've made you blush," Goku teased. "Did you want to find out or something?" He asked with a grin.

"Uh, no!" Usagi snorted, her blush spreading to her ears. Though now that that was thrown out there in the open, she did fleetingly wonder just what it would be like… ugh, it was his scent, that's all it was. Just the scent of a Saiyan male, and it was turning her on like Trunks's scent had.

A little voice in the back of her head spoke up and informed her that Vegeta's scent didn't have that effect on her, but she punched that voice in the face before returning to the last of her pizza.

Goku could have pumped his fist in the air and cheered at that brief flash of interest in her eyes, and found himself having to fight the damned beast again, even in his triumph; it wanted to press her back into the couch cushions, push up her skirt, and show her just how slowly he could execute a proper tongue lashing. His imagination had only been haunted by her since he'd felt the pull; her scent, her face, the taste of her lips… what he thought it would feel like to have her legs wrapped around his neck and her fingers buried in his hair, the sound of her voice moaning his name, begging to feel him inside of he.

"Kakarot? You ok?"

His eyes snapped open and he nearly growled at the sound his real name on her lips. "Hm? Just thinking," he said pleasantly, amazed with his own ability to pretend that he hadn't just been fantasizing about those smooth, creamy thighs—Dende, he needed to stop this train of thought and fast! "Ami wanted to check you out once you were awake. I'll be right back."

The moment he was outside and the door was closed behind him, Goku hit his knees on the doorstep and breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring the looks of concern from three out of four of his children. "I'm fine," he eventually huffed, climbing to his feet.

"The hell you are," Ami snorted, pointing to his groin. "You may want to take care of that before you go back in there," she advised primly. And then, "answers my question about where Gohan gets it."

Looking down, Goku had the decency to blush at the raging erection tenting his pants. "Damn thing. Where's Goten? I need to ask him how in the hell he did it."

Rei blushed at the sight of her father's arousal. Gohan wasn't the only one that got it from Goku, and she had privately always wondered about that. Her eyes snapped back up to his face and she chuckled. "Sorry, it's just…" She shrugged, suddenly frowning as she used the bond to locate her mate. "He's not far. He's just… he's really upset. Not with you; he's not actually mad **at** you. He's just mad in general. And for the record, Dad… I _knew_ that Goten had felt the pull for me, so keeping the beastie at bay wasn't an issue. The way we kept from completing the bond won't work for you, since it would require her going down on you."

They all stared at the full-blooded Saiyan when he licked his lips slowly and glanced in the direction of the living room, but the moment he turned and moved to go back inside, Gohan blocked his path. "Dad. Dad!" The demi shook him gently to make him look up at him. "She's still in mourning, Dad." He sighed with relief when his father closed his eyes and seemed to be getting a handle on his more primal side. "What did you do with Mom?"

"I didn't," he grunted. "She was older than me, so when I turned fifteen and the hormones hit, she took care of me. We were mated almost immediately, and… and it was so damned long ago that I honestly don't even remember what it was like, then. Not like this. Not this bad or this strong."

"Well, I know not to ever mention head again," Rei chuckled, and returned the tiny smile on her dad's lips. "And I hate to suggest this, Dad, but you've got one option as far as advice goes."

Goku's lips curled up in a snarl and he shook his head. "Not a chance. If I see him, I'll kill him. Especially after what he put Usagi through today." He quickly related what had happened, how bad his injury had been and its location, and watched as Rei and Ami's eyes widened in shock. "I thought she'd retreated into herself again, for a long while."

"It was your scent that kept it from happening, I'm sure," the doctor said firmly. "You did well to take her into your room, Tousan. I'll go and check her out now." She patted Goku on the shoulder before rushing inside to check on her queen, her worry stamped all over her face.

"I'll be back in a moment, guys. Gohan, call me if you need me to set his hair on fire. No offense, Dad, but for a moment I thought we were going to have to physically restrain you."

"None taken," Goku grunted. "For a moment, you nearly had to. If I'd stepped foot in the house, I would have taken her."

##########################

"What girl?"

Rei rolled her eyes at her sensei's tone as she stepped into the gravity room. "Geta, honey, I need to speak with Vegeta privately for a moment, alright?"

Unable to refuse a request from his future mate's mother, Geta simply nodded and exited the gravity room, closing the door to give them privacy.

"So…" Rei began, "Aside from the fact that you nearly caused Usagi to relapse with that little stunt of yours, I'm here to talk about what needs to be done for Goku."

"Kakarot can rot in Hell for all I care…" Vegeta frowned. "Is she alright, though?"

"You nearly killed Goku, and the blow to the back of the head was similar enough to Trunks's wound that it nearly caused a setback in her progress." Rei was satisfied when Vegeta's wooden mask slipped a bit to show a flicker of terror and guilt on his face. "The healing drained her a lot since you caved in part of his skull, so she's eating and resting at Dad's house right now." Rei rubbed the bridge of her nose for a moment; she felt a headache coming on. "But that's not why I'm here. I'll let Ami yell at you for it all later, since she's actually more pissed at you than I am."

"Then spit it out," Vegeta grunted.

"Goku's having an awfully hard time restraining himself. Gohan had to hold him back earlier from rushing into the house to claim her. How did you do it? You chased Bulma for a couple years before you claimed her."

"What I did won't work, girl. I was in my twenties back then. It gets harder to control that mating urge as an unmated Saiyan warrior gets older. Kakarot's only a couple years younger than me, so he's what? Sixty-five? I'm amazed he's kept it in check this long."

"Ami said that the beastie was concerned about her mourning period when she went inside to check on them. I swear, Ami-chan has balls of fucking rock; she walked right into the lion's den without flinching. Gohan said that when Goku IT'd home, he looked like he was going to rip his head off on sight."

"Blue's family, and most importantly, female. She's pretty safe from Kakarot. As are you. He's an alpha male at the head of a group of growing Saiyans and their mates, and he'll look after his family and try not to harm them. Especially the females, since they're so rare on Vegeta-sai that it's ingrained in our DNA. But… the only thing that can be done is to keep them apart, frankly." Vegeta held up a hand when Rei opened her mouth to hotly protest. "Yes, it sounds like I'm being self-serving and well… I am, but it's also true. Just the scent of her will set him off. Bring her home as soon as possible, and we'll come up with a way to keep her here and him there. That's the only thing that can be done, Red."

############################

"Ami-chan, I'm fine, really." Usagi sighed for the millionth time and shook her head when Mercury did yet another scan on her to make sure she wasn't harmed. "I swear, Ami, it's almost as if you want to find something wrong with me."

The Senshi and goddess of wisdom huffed and closed her computer. "It's not that, Usa. I just wanted to be sure." Her communicator went off before she could say anything else; she'd been contemplating telling Usagi exactly what was going on, but apparently the King of the Trolls had other ideas.

"Blue, send Usa home," he grunted. "She should be fine by now. Red's on her way back."

"I don't think she should fly, Vegeta. Give me a few extra minutes and I'll have Gohan bring her, ok?"

"What's wrong with Goku taking me home?" Usagi asked tersely. Not even sure why she was bothered by the fact that neither of them had suggested him.

"Because if I see Kakarot, I'll blow his fucking head off!" Vegeta snapped.

Oh_, that_ was why. Usagi had nearly forgotten about the fight that morning, but now that she remembered it, she was mad. Really fucking mad. "Why, Tousan, so you can finish the job!?" She yelled, her voice getting increasingly louder with every syllable. "You nearly fucking **KILLED HIM** you cock-sucking bastard! I about shit a fucking frisbee when I found him!" She screamed. "I'm coming home," she added with a snarl. "I'll see you soon, Tousan." Very soon.

Goku stormed in to defend his mate from whatever she was ranting at, tail fur standing on end and his lips curled up in a snarl… but she wasn't there. "Where **is** she!?" He yelled, sniffing the air for any sign of her.

Judging from the screaming and yelling from the other end of Ami's communicator, and the sudden click as Vegeta hung up, she was already back at Capsule Corp, and Goku shifted right back to being his usual happy self. And with good reason, too. "She just Sailor Teleported, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Mercury replied in wonder, still staring at her communicator. "I think she did."

"That means she's coming back to us all the way, isn't she?" Goku asked gleefully, practically doing a little dance in his elation.

"Yeah, Dad, but now that she's back at Capsule Corp, you're going to have one hell of a time even getting to see her," Goten replied from the door. He held up a hand when Goku's face saddened and he tried to speak. "No, Dad. I'm not angry. I was just upset for a little while, and I'll be fine, ok?" He stepped in and closed the door. "Now, Vegeta told Rei that you're having a hard time controlling this because you're older. It's easier for the younger males, so what I did with Pyro isn't going to work at all. The only thing that will work is to keep you two separated."

Goku growled at that, his sudden joy over Usagi's progress totally forgotten. "Over my dead body."

"Vegeta said he would be more than happy to arrange that," the youngest Saiyan replied dryly, rolling his eyes. "And since none of us want to see you two locked in a deathmatch, we all agree that it would be best if you just let things cool down for a while. Let Usagi finish her mourning, and let Vegeta get used to the idea. We all know you're not his favorite person in the world."

Ami tugged him by the hand to the couch and sat him down beside her. "Please, Tousan, think about this rationally. Usagi is going to need time, and you're having a harder time controlling yourself around her. Don't deny it, either, that raging boner out front was all the proof we needed," she added with a hint of amusement.

"I wouldn't claim her before she was ready," Goku grumbled like a petulant child.

"No, Tousan, but you're definitely going to let on that you've felt the pull. Usagi's naïve as all hell, but she isn't stupid. Much more of this behavior and it'll hit her like a sack of rocks, and we simply don't know what it would do to her."

"I'd take care of her," Goku said stubbornly, folding his arms over his chest and looking away from her.

"Now you're just being selfish, Tou—"

"I have every right to be selfish!" He yelled, jumping up from his seat on the couch to pace the living room floor. "I've saved the world so many damned times I've lost count; don't you think I deserve a little bit of fucking happiness, Ami!?"

"She's also saved the world, Tousan. More times than you, believe it or not," Ami replied patiently. "And she's been through more than enough hardship for her trouble. Doesn't she also deserve her happiness?"

"I'd make her happy, damn it!" He snapped. "Ergh… Kami, I can still smell her in here, it's like the scent's crawling into my brain or something!"

"He's got a boner again," Rei stated tartly from the doorway.

"It's her smell," Goten groaned. "I had the same problem with you for months, if you don't remember."

Finally Goku ceased his pacing and sat down on the floor, beyond caring about the tent he was pitching in front of all of his children. "Fine," she huffed in defeat. "I give her a little space for a few days, let everything—" He paused when Ami cleared her throat. "What, woman?"

"We—um, we were thinking in terms of months, Tousan. Not days."

Rather than jump up and storm around the room once more, or better yet, IT straight to Capsule Corp and stomp Vegeta's ass into a million pieces before teleporting somewhere secluded with the man's precious daughter, Goku's eyes welled up with tears. "Months?" He whispered. "I c—can't see her… or even smell her… for m-m-_months_?"

"Dear God, help us," Rei muttered, darting forward to embrace her father-in-law. Ami joined in as well, and if either of them had any amusing thoughts about hugging a giant horny Saiyan, neither of them said anything.

###################

"That was fast," Vegeta remarked dryly, when his daughter appeared in front of him almost immediately after basically telling him that she was coming hunting. Outside, his face was stony, but inside, it was like the very first day he'd gotten her pissed off at him over two months ago. He was cheering, pumping his fists in the air, and silently willing her to attack him, to truly try to hurt him, like they'd used to back before his son had died. "You needed to tell me something, girl?"

Apparently she'd written the message on her first, because It was flying right for his eye before he could even think to react, and he briefly clutched at it while he growled in anger. "You get that one for free, girl." Forty years ago, no one would have even thought to punch him and live to tell the tale, but this was his daughter, and she had balls of solid rock. If she were male, they'd likely be bigger than his own.

Then again, if she were male, he would have put her through the wall for that suckerpunch. "You want another one?"

"I'm sure it'll cost me," Usagi replied knowingly, already dropped into a fighting stance and waiting for retaliation. "What did he do to piss you off so much, Tousan?"

"None of your damned business, girl," Vegeta replied, before darting in to strike and landing a punch to her ribs before she blocked the next one. And the next, and the next, and the next. Vegeta grunted as she took a hit to the kidneys in order to take advantage of an opening and split his lip. "Well, now we're two for two, girl. Ready to stop this nonsense?"

"Tell me what happened, and I might," she spat out, fighting the urge to rub at her back. Neither of them were using ki, but the man still hit like a fucking hammer.

"And why do you care so much, girl? It's just Kakarot. I've been using him as a punching bag for years, and you've never so much as said anything against it until now." Vegeta made sure to keep his wooden mask in place; she'd teleported here, and he was sure he could get her to take the next step if he planned his strategy just right. But it would require hurting her first, and he couldn't show an ounce of mercy until she reacted accordingly.

He'd do anything for her. _Anything_. Including hurting her for her own good. Vegeta just hoped she'd understand that later.

"You left him for dead!" She yelled, jumping back in to throw several kicks and punches, only of one of which landed, glancing over his jaw. "What is wrong with you, Tousan!? You just left him there like a sack of drowned kittens or something—and what you did to his head!"

Vegeta went on the offensive, punching and kicking relentlessly as he felt her ki rise a little bit to keep up with him. He matched it as hers continued to climb, and soon enough she plateaued, no longer able to get it any higher without transforming. "If I didn't know any better Usagi," he snarled, "I'd say you had _feelings_ for that insignificant third-class bastard."

He threw a few more punches when her jaw momentarily dropped, and heard one of her ribs break. Now it was time for the finisher. "**Have you forgotten my son already, woman**!?"

The Prince of all Saiyans had expected a cry of "Moon Crystal Power Make-Up!" or even a shift to Serenity, but the explosive flash that came from his daughter threw him into the gravity room wall with such force that he felt his hip, ribs, and a leg break on impact. He grunted in pain when he fell to the floor, his broken bones grinding and protesting against the laws of gravity.

Vegeta managed to roll his eyes up to look at her, and saw a stern face framed in a cloud of silver. "That's my girl," he said hoarsely, a mix of remorse and pride in his voice, just before his eyes closed and he blacked out.

**NOPE! He didn't get any! Bwahahahahaha! Maybe next time… or not. Who knows? Read and review and maybe you'll find out!**


	3. Back in the Saddle

**Tissue box warning, girls! Not right away, but you're gonna need them in a little bit! I actually cried while I wrote that scene! Now… I have to go to work!**

"You nearly died, you jackass."

Vegeta knew that voice, but he hadn't heard it in a long time. That snappish, smartass tone, too. Swimming up through the blackness in his brain, he managed to open his eyes and was greeted with silver. "I always preferred King of the Trolls. Better ring to it," he grunted.

"Don't talk," she grumbled, moving her hand over his chest as she searched for any more injuries. "I'm tempted to punch you in the throat and not heal it just to shut you the fuck up for a few days."

"Can't say I don't deserve it," he admitted softly. "You hurt?"

"Fine," Cosmos snapped, still extremely upset with him for his words. "The transformation healed any injuries." She abruptly stood and turned around to walk out the door, but a grunt from Vegeta stopped her. "What?"

"_That _word, girl. I just thought I'd let you know." Vegeta sighed as he watched her shoulders sag and smelled the salt of tears; he knew that scent all too well after the last few months, and he prayed to whatever gods were listening that he wouldn't ever have to smell it coming from her ever again.

"Love you too, Tousan," Usagi whispered, as she felt him wrap his arms and tail around her waist from behind and heard him begin to purr.

########################

Rei yawned as her mate climbed into bed and flopped down next to her. "Gohan finally relieve you?" She smiled when he just grunted and lightly pushed her away when she tried to rub up against him. "Whoa, my big bad Saiyan warrior's too tired for some love?"

"Yes," he said bluntly. "Because your big bad Saiyan warrior was dealing with a bigger, badder Saiyan warrior that had a raging hard-on for two hours. And then he wanted to spar to blow off some steam. Which was awkward, since he still had a boner." Goten made a choked little noise in the back of his throat. "I think I felt it on my leg," he whined.

"Aw, my poor, sweet man," Rei crooned, trying her damnedest not to laugh. The last two weeks had been hard enough on Goten and Gohan without her added ribbing, and she'd promised Ami that she wouldn't add to it. "Lay down," she whispered in his ear, but when adamantly shook his head no, she pushed him onto his stomach and rolled up with him to straddle his back. "Relax, honey. No sex, I sure as hell wouldn't be horny after having my father's erection in my face all damned day."

"Don't remind me," he whimpered. "At one point it _was_ in my face during the sparring. I thought about breaking it off." But then he groaned as her power-heated hands began to slowly move over his back, kneading his shoulders first before moving to his spine to work at the knots and the bruises that went hand-in-hand with fighting his father. "I love you," he purred.

"You'd better," she replied, almost sweetly, as she leaned down to kiss his mark. "Just relax, Goten, I want you to get some sleep before it's time to switch shifts with Gohan again."

########################

"No, girl, not today," Vegeta said flatly, when Usagi walked into the gravity room for her early morning training.

"Oh. Are you training Geta today instead?"

Vegeta nodded, but gave her an easy grin. "Not for the reason you think, though. Today, my girl… you rest. Tonight, we fight. Well, _you_ fight. I'll just be there to watch your back," he added with an uncharacteristic wink.

"Huh? What in the hell are you—" Usagi frowned and vehemently shook her head. "No, Tousan. No."

"What in the hell did you think the last two weeks have been about, girl!? I was making sure you were fit for duty! Now, you are going to go eat something, crawl your ass back into bed, and take a nap!" He was roaring at this point, and Usagi was simply glaring at him like she wanted to rip his throat out. Good, that was the reaction he wanted. "NOW!" He yelled at her, pointing at the door.

As expected, Usagi rose to the challenge, but before she could even land a punch, Vegeta had her over his shoulder, kicking and screaming curses at him in Saiyan and Japanese alike, as he ascended to level three and hauled her skinny ass upstairs. "You asked for it, girl," he said flatly, filing away a few of her more creative curses for future use. "Feh, that's not even anatomically possible," he chuckled at one of them, as he kicked open the door to her room.

"Give me some ducttape and a screwdriver and I'll prove you wrong!" She snarled in reply, just as he dumped her on her bed. Usagi jumped up to hit him and attain her freedom, but Vegeta was on top of it, shoving her right back down. "Let me up!"

"Nope." He set a capsule on her nightstand without ceremony and gave her an easy grin. "And if you don't eat and take a nap, you're going to regret it."

"Like hell I will," she snarled.

"Oh, I have a few… creative… punishments in mind if you don't do as you're told, girl. And you know how much **fun** I can be when I use my imagination." Vegeta was pleased when she stared at him, only to look away from him first. The last time he'd gotten creative, he'd hauled her to the North Pole and dumped her in the water when she was an hour late to practice. That had been over a year ago. "I'll meet you right after dinner to warm-up, and then we're going hunting, girl." He grinned at that. "Funny, for once I actually _feel _like saving the world," he chuckled.

###############

For the first time in two weeks, Goku felt at ease as he bent his head and drew the scent of the moon into his nose. He itched to climb into bed with her, but he knew he couldn't do that or even stay long. If he did, Vegeta would smell it for sure.

So he settled for gazing down at his sleeping mate, just watching her breathe, while he knelt at the bedside and breathed in the best thing he'd ever smelled. He sighed after a few minutes; he'd stayed longer than he had planned. He'd come out of his room to find Gohan dozing on the couch, and took advantage of the opportunity to IT to her room. He'd only meant to stay for a moment to breathe in her scent while she was downstairs training, but to his delight he'd found her taking a nap.

His mate, right there, in the flesh. Goku huffed as he felt himself growing aroused, and fought the urge to hit himself in the balls. Damned thing!

########################

"Good workout, boy. Get some water," Vegeta grunted.

"Please, Paw Paw?" Geta asked for the millionth time that morning. "**Please**!? I swear I'll be careful, and I won't get in the way!"

"No," Vegeta snapped, immediately feeling guilty for his tone. He'd already lost his son to crime fighting, and he'd be damned if he risked his teenaged, hormonal, headstrong grandson, too. Usagi was one thing; she'd been doing that sort of thing for twenty-five years or more. But Geta was green as hell and too eager to kick some ass. The boy would err on the side of getting some action. "Maybe in a few years," he amended. "You need more discipline for that sort of thing, boy, and you're still too hot-headed for it."

"Fine," his grandson sighed unhappily. "Hm. It's nearly eleven, Paw Paw. Should I take Mom some lunch or something?"

"Nah, I'll go wake her up. She's been a good little princess all day long, so maybe I'll let her try to kick my ass." Vegeta threw a towel over his neck, letting it drape over his bare chest, and headed out of the gravity room and upstairs. "She'd better still be up there," he chuckled, searching for her ki, "or I'm going to—"

Vegeta's eyes went wide as he sensed a familiar ki in his daughter's room, and went straight to level three in his rage, throwing her door open as soon as he was up the stairs.

Goku caught it to keep it from slamming and making any noise, and held a finger up to his lips. "I just wanted to see her," he whispered, almost calmly. "Don't wake her up."

"Get the fuck out, Kakarot," Vegeta hissed under his breath, fighting the urge to pounce when his rival went to the other side of the bed to look down at his daughter with nothing but longing in his eyes. "Out! Now!" He whispered sharply, pointing at the window. His blood really began to boil when Goku gave him a smirk that simply infuriated him, bent down, and dared press his lips to Vegeta's daughter's.

Goku grinned a little as Vegeta stormed around the bed with murder in his eyes, but quickly put his fingers to his forehead and IT'd his ass out of there before the older Saiyan could reach him.

Vegeta moved to give chase, meet Kakarot outside the Son house, and beat the living fuck out of him, but froze at the window. If he pursued his enemy and got hurt, Usagi would and _could_ refuse to go out on patrol tonight. And if he hurt Kakarot again as badly as he had the last time, all kinds of shit would hit the fan with Usagi. And Bulma. He'd listened to his mate's mouth for over an hour once she was sure he was physically alright, and it had been enough for him to want to fake an injury just to shut her the fuck up.

At the sound of a rustle from the bed, he immediately powered down and turned. "You're awake," he grunted at his daughter, who was moving but hadn't even opened her eyes yet. She was even sleeping on her own pillow for once, he noted with relief.

"Come snuggle with me, Tousan," she mumbled happily, a bright smile on her face. The brightest anyone had seen her give since Trunks had been alive.

Vegeta mentally cast about to make sure no one would catch him before giving in to the guilty pleasure of lying down, wrapping his tail around his little princess, and purring low in his chest. Dende, how he wished he'd been the one to raise her. He loved Bra, and she was a damned good fighter for a girl, but she wasn't a warrior like Usagi. Like himself, Trunks, and Geta, fighting was Usagi's bread and butter.

"I had the best dream," Usagi sighed, still smiling with her eyes closed.

"What was it about?" Vegeta asked curiously. It had to be some dream to make her smile like _that_.

"The sun," she purred. "It sounds ridiculous, but I felt so safe and warm, Tousan." Usagi didn't notice the hitch in his purr as she spoke, but he was suddenly scowling behind her back. "And then the strangest thing happened. The sun kissed me. Then I woke up. Mmm… it was a nice dream, though."

At the word 'kissed,' Vegeta abruptly stopped purring, and looked to the window with malice in his eyes. Fucking Kakarot; Vegeta was going to bronze his balls and use them for a hood ornament. Usagi's voice snapped him out of different, increasingly more creative ways to dispose of the younger Saiyan. "Hm?"

"You ok, Tousan?"

"Fine," he grunted. "Was just thinking."

"Oh, so that's what I smelled burning," Usagi chuckled.

"Feh, shut up, girl. Get up, eat something, then come downstairs. We're going to do some light work, then dinner, then the city."

"Yeah, yeah."

##############################

"Well, what are you waiting for!?" Vegeta snapped. She was stalling, that was it, and while he wasn't mad at her, they needed to get their asses in gear. Sunset was upon them already, and they still had to fly to the city.

"Hush, Tousan. I'm trying to think of how I can keep the moon from appearing. It'll give us the edge in battle, don't you think? If no one knows I'm back, yet."

"Oh, damn. Well, take your time then, girl. That's not a bad idea. But how in the hell would you do that? Doesn't it pop up whether you like it or not?"

"I don't know. I mean, I _am_ the moon technically, and the light in the sky is just my herald. So… Moon Crystal Power Make-Up," she said without a ton of excitement, still staring at the sky. And then a sliver of light appeared and she shook her head. And then it receded, as if on command. "Ah, ok! That works then, yay!"

"Can we go now?" He grumbled impatiently. Vegeta got his answer when Usagi shot into the sky, and since she'd instructed him not to go over level one unless it was urgent, it took him a moment to catch her up. Damn, he'd forgotten how fast she'd gotten in this form.

"Getting old, Tousan."

"Shut up, girl," Vegeta chuckled, and adjusted the strap around his chest. He felt a pang of grief, and at the same time, pride, at the feel of his son's sword strapped to his back. Usagi had given it to him several hours ago with tears in her eyes, and told him that Trunks would have wanted him to have it if he was going to take up the crime fighting mantle. He'd accepted it only on the terms that Geta receive it when he took over in a few years.

He ran his hand over the strap lightly and sighed to himself; it should have been Trunks here, not him, and his daughter should have been light and happy as usual without the prospect of—he shuddered—Kakarot claiming her. God, she was going to shit the bed when she found out about that. And there just wasn't much he could do about it, which pissed him off to no end. If he killed Kakarot, his mate and his daughter would likely shun him. If he beat the shit out of him, his mate and daughter would go up one side of him and down the other.

The only thing to do was to keep them apart and pray to all the gods in the universe that Usagi would never lock eyes with him again in the next three hundred years or so. Ok, fine. That was irrational. But he didn't care, damn it! Anyone but Kakarot!

Another, much smaller part of him wondered why he minded. Another mate would make her happy. Saiyans mourned for about six months; but her kind…? She'd likely never love again unless she felt the pull for another Saiyan. Any relationship wouldn't even come close to the mating bond. She'd be alone, for all eternity.

Vegeta's hand touched the strap around him reverently for a moment and briefly closed his eyes. What would his son want? The answer was just as simple as the question, and he sighed wearily. Trunks would want her happiness. And as his next of kin, it was Vegeta's duty to ensure it. And as a Saiyan alpha male, in charge of a household, part of that was making sure that she found a suitable mate… finding one that she'd feel the pull for. _I fucking hate you, Kakarot._

He'd told himself a million times that he would do anything for her. _Anything._ He knew without a doubt that he would destroy galaxies to please Cosmos, just to see her smile for him. Could he get past his own damned pride for her too? _God, I __**really**__ fucking hate you, Kakarot!_

"Slow down, Tousan. Lower your ki flames, we don't want the light drawing attention."

Vegeta did as he was told and kept his thoughts to himself. Tonight was about getting Usagi back to her old self, not about the regrets of an old warrior. "Where to, girl?"

Usagi just motioned for him to follow, and eventually slowed to a stop and landed on a familiar rooftop. She looked around it for a moment, almost expecting him to be there, to hear his voice saying "Hey, Moon." But when she turned, it was just Vegeta, who had an understanding look in his eyes. He knew that this was the rooftop where they'd first met, where they'd always met since that first day. She held up a hand when he tried to speak. "I'm alright," she whispered.

Her father just nodded and moved to the edge to look out at the city, in order to give her a moment to herself. Vegeta relaxed when she eventually came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder, and his tail snaked around her in response, flexing as it squeezed her briefly. "You alright, girl?"

"Yeah, I was just remembering. That's all. Trunks… he wouldn't want me to keep doing this to myself. And most of all, he wouldn't want me to mourn him forever, and to stop being Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon is how he came to meet me… this aspect of myself gave me fifteen years of nothing but happiness with him. It would be wrong to give it up… it would be an insult to his memory."

"I couldn't have said it better, Usagi," Vegeta replied hoarsely. "I'm fine," Vegeta whispered, when she came around to stand beside him and she spotted the tears in his eyes. "It should be him here, not me. That's all. If it weren't for the mating bond, I'd tell you that he felt… that word… for you, more than you'd ever know. But you did know, which is good. He'd be happy knowing that you knew how much he cared for you." He took a deep breath that almost sounded like a sob to his daughter's ears, and didn't push her away when she hugged him tightly, her hands smoothing up and down his back.

Usagi used some of her light when she felt his tears fall onto her shoulder. This was her fault, in a way. Vegeta had been so engrossed in taking care of her that he'd never properly grieved for his only son, and she knew that now it was finally hitting home for him. "Trunks loved you too, you know. And Tousan…? He knew that _you_ loved _him_."

Sailor Moon was simply floored when Vegeta suddenly choked out something in Saiyan that she couldn't make out, and she only hugged him tighter to her, cradling his head to her shoulder as she whispered words of comfort to him in Saiyan.

Father and daughter stood there for a long time, simply holding each other, before Vegeta finally pulled away from her slowly, wiping at his eyes with his forearms until Usagi pulled a pack of tissues from her subspace and wordlessly handed them over. She knew better than to say anything, the man wore his pride on his sleeve, and she'd be damned if she bruised it any worse than it had been already.

She silently set up the scanner on the ledge while Vegeta composed himself on the other end of the roof, and knew he was better when she heard him curse in his native tongue and bitch about how long it was taking for a call to come in. "Well, high and mighty prince, you chose a Thursday night to kick me in the ass to go patrolling. Not only that, it's still early. All the good shit happens between midnight and four."

"What in the hell did you two do up here during all that time!?" He huffed. "And I mean _before _he claimed you, girl."

Usagi shrugged. "Homework. Played cards. Talked about movies and shit. I have some books in my subspace if you're bored. I brought one you might like."

"Lay it on me, girl." Vegeta snorted at the title in derision. "The Art of War? Like humans would know anything useful about war."

"Thought you might say that. Give it a shot, Tousan. You'd be amazed to find out that it was written something like twenty-seven centuries ago. It's probably nothing compared to Saiyan battle tactics and strategy, but you never know. You may learn something new from it."

Vegeta huffed and muttered something less than complimentary about humans before sitting on the rooftop and opening the book. And after a while of flipping around in it, he huffed in surprise. "For a human, this man knew what he was talking about. A little, at least. '_Anyone who excels in defeating his enemies triumphs before his enemy's threat becomes real_._' _Have you read this, girl?"

"Hai," Usagi answered distractedly. "I told you that you might like it."

"'_The best policy is to capture the state intact; it should be destroyed only if no other options are available.' _Feh, fucking tell _that_ to Frieza," he snorted absently.

"Shh," Usagi breathed, and pointed to the scanner. A new call was coming in, and the dispatcher announced a two-eleven S. The address was all Usagi needed to hear before she switched it off and shoved it in her subspace. "Well, that's what we've been waiting for."

"What the fuck is a two-eleven S?" Vegeta handed her the book, which she put away as well.

"Robbery. Silent alarm, and the address is a bank. So let's roll. Nervous?" She teased.

"Only that I might break someone's neck on accident," he admitted with a smirk. "Lead the way, girl. Let's go kick some ass, already."

"Sweet." Usagi leapt into the air and blasted straight for the bank, which wasn't but a mile away, and landed easily on the rooftop, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, just like old times, when she spotted the open skylight and the rope going down into the bank. "Dumbasses." When she heard Vegeta shift behind her, she nodded, more to herself than him. "I'll take point. Got my back?"

"_Always_, girl," Vegeta answered dryly, as if she didn't even have to ask the question. "Just flare your ki if you need me."

Usagi jumped in through the skylight and used her ki to keep the landing from being too hard while she scanned the building for energy signatures. There they were at the safe. No surprise, there. Sailor Moon stood waiting nonchalantly, leaning against the counter, when the two robbers came out of the safe, carrying duffel bags of cash. "Miss me, boys?" She purred dangerously.

Both bags of cash instantly hit the floor as the perps just stared at her in disbelief. Sailor Moon expected both of their hands to go into the air, which they did, but she was completely floored when the taller one stepped forward, hands out in a gesture of peace. In fact, she was so stunned when he took her hands in his and squeezed them, that she couldn't even react except to squeeze them back. "We're supposed to be the bad guys, I know. But we were all very sorry for your loss. In a way, we mourned him, too," he whispered, before releasing her hands and raising them once more, backing up to join his partner in crime.

Usagi held up a hand to stop the other one from approaching her as well as she wiped tears away with her glove. "Thank you," she said softly. "I… just… thank you. I'll see if the judge will go light on you both."

"We really were sorry when we heard what had happened," the shorter perp said just as sincerely. "Here." He slowly pulled a small pack of tissues from his pocket, making sure to keep his hands in view, and tossed it to her.

"Thank you," Usagi said gently. She took a couple to wipe her face before walking up and sticking the rest of the packet in his shirt pocket. She turned when they both jumped, and knew that Vegeta had landed behind her silently. "I'm fine, Tousan," she assured him.

The robbers just stared at him as if they'd seen a ghost, but both of them seemed to realize at the same time that this Golden Warrior was a little shorter, his hair was different, and he was littered in a lot more scars than his predecessor. His outfit was the same though, which had thrown them both off for several moments; that had been Vegeta's intention when he'd dressed for battle that evening.

"You've been crying," he grunted, eyeing the criminals. "Which one of them did it?" He growled. When she rolled her eyes and pecked him on the cheek, he relented.

"They've done nothing wrong except try to rob a bank," she snorted, walking towards the door as she saw blue lights reflected in the windows. "Keep an eye on them for me, Tousan? And don't hurt them," she added with a chuckle.

When Usagi got outside, she spotted a lieutenant climbing out of a patrol car and headed straight for him with the intent of informing him of the robber's kindness, and how she wanted them let go if possible. If not, she at least wanted them put on probation with time served. She stopped when she heard an officer yell her name in surprise, and gave them all a slow, serious nod.

The tears came to her eyes again when one officer slowly removed his cap and held it to his heart, followed by another, and another, until every single responding officer—nearly two dozen—was watching her quietly, all of their eyes filled with deep, quiet emotion. Usagi couldn't speak, she was so overwhelmed by their gesture, but managed to give them a respectful bow, which they all returned immediately.

"Girl! You'd better hurry the hell up out there, I feel like killing something!" Thank God for Vegeta, the great destroyer of all touching moments. The Prince of all Saiyans stopped just outside the door when he saw what he'd just interrupted. "Sorry, girl," he grunted, giving her a quick nod. "Take your time."

Usagi managed a watery smile in his direction. "Just bring them out, Tousan. I know how fidgety you can get."

"Tousan?" The lieutenant asked, when Sailor Moon closed the gap between them.

"Um… yeah," Usagi said with a hint of a blush, a little embarrassed at the way all of the officers were watching her intently. "He's…" She licked her lips and wiped at her eyes a bit before finishing the sentence. "He's Stranger's father. He's just keeping an eye on me."

"I'd suggest an officer to escort you if one of us could even keep up with you," the lieutenant said seriously, looking back up the stairs as Vegeta came out of the bank, preceded by the robbers, whose hands were bound with ki bands. "We've missed you, Sailor Moon," he added quietly. "Are you sure you're fit for duty?"

Usagi nodded slowly. "In fact…" She related the tale of what had just happened in the bank, and was surprised to see that the cop wasn't stunned to hear the news.

"I think some people have been robbing places just to try and get you to come back," the cop said softly. "We've had a few cases where people just broke in, but didn't even take anything. It's like they were waiting for you, but just gave up and left before we arrived."

"Mars told me about one. She said she was waiting for them to make an exit with the cash, but when they just left empty-handed and they seemed disappointed, she let them go," Usagi replied.

Vegeta stopped the criminals from approaching his daughter and yanked them both back by their shirt collars. "I believe these are yours, girl. Where do you want them?"

The lieutenant nodded to his cruiser, and opened the backdoor as he pulled a couple pairs of handcuffs from his belt and used them on each of the robbers. Vegeta broke the ki bands then, and put the first one in the cop car. "Watch your head, asshole," he grunted. "I've _always_ wanted to do that," he added with a smirk in Usagi's direction.

"Hang on, Tousan," Usagi said quickly. She strode up to the black and white and kissed the robber in the car on the cheek, before giving the other the same treatment. "Thank you," she said softly, "for your kindness. It… it meant a lot to me." She smiled at Vegeta when he just stared at her. "I'll tell you later," she said with a gentle smile.

The News 14 van pulled up just then, and the pair of crime fighters weren't in the least surprised to see their old friend from the video scandal, Karen, leap out of the passenger seat and start running towards her. "Let me through!" She snapped at the cops that barred her way; they were all feeling more than a little protective of their local heroine, and determined to give the girl her privacy if she wished it.

"It's alright," Usagi said gently, and the cops parted for Karen, who ran forward and nearly tackled her in a hug. "Ok, I didn't expect _that_," she chuckled. She'd expected a grilling about her identity, especially after seeing the card sent to Capsule Corp months ago by the reporter, expressing her condolences. Vegeta had kept it and given it to her a week after she'd woken up.

"We missed you," Karen said, pulling away to tenderly stroke the shorter woman's face. "And we're glad to have you back, dear. You got my card?"

"Hai," Usagi grumbled with a hint of annoyance.

"I won't tell, honey. If I was going to tell, I would have done it months ago." Karen looked around, a little embarrassed at her loss of professionalism, and her eyes landed on Vegeta. "Tousan, I presume?" She asked with an appreciative smile. "Hot damn, you really _are _the sexiest man on the planet. Miss Moon was right." He smirked at that and gave a low chuckle, and Karen suddenly felt a little hot and bothered at the sound of that low rumble of laughter. "And of course, I already know he's married," she added with a grumble, low enough that only Usagi and Vegeta heard her. "So, what do we call him? The Golden Tousan?"

"The Golden Troll," Usagi snorted, and laughed when Vegeta shot her an exasperated look.

"So, I have to ask. Where is the moon at? It's always appeared before whenever you arrived. When I didn't see it on the way here, I wouldn't have believed the call I got if my informant hadn't been in hysterics."

"Oh, that." Sailor Moon stepped away from her for a moment, looked up at the sky, and under her gaze the full moon bloomed in the heavens to shine down on them all. "I figured out how to make it not appear. I thought we'd go for the element of surprise." Usagi looked around a little nervously at all the cops when they kept glancing at her, and she blushed. "I'm not used to all this attention, Karen, sorry. We need to split."

"I don't suppose we could do coffee?"

Vegeta shrugged when Usagi glanced at him. "I don't care either way, girl. Just as long as I'm not bored."

"Sure, I know a place we can go," Usagi answered. "Tousan, would you mind—"

"Yeah, yeah. A Saiyan prince, reduced to a fucking taxi service," he grumbled, before scooping up Karen and taking into the air. He had to admit, though, he was awfully flattered by her blush and the way her eyes kept glancing up at him. "I'm mated, woman," he reminded her.

"Doesn't mean I can't look," Karen snorted, "and you're awfully nice to look at, Mr. Briefs."

"Ugh, don't call me that!" Vegeta snorted in disgust.

Usagi laughed from beside them as she caught up, and finished the speech she'd heard a million times. "He's the crown fucking prince of Vegeta-sai, damn it, and he will not be addressed by his mate's name!" She stated in her best Vegeta impression, drawing a laugh from Karen and a smirk from her father.

"Damn right, girl. Glad to know that you've paid attention to something I've tried to teach you."

"So, pray tell, what exactly is your maiden name, then?" Karen asked smugly.

"Prince Vegeta, crown—ugh. Bitch," Vegeta snorted, and shot Usagi the stink eye when she laughed so hard that she bobbed in the air for a moment.

"Tousan, I do believe the Troll King just got trolled!"

When she flew a little ways ahead to lead them, Karen spoke softly in reaction to the tender look in Vegeta's eyes as he watched his daughter. "She's come a long way, I take it?"

"I had to scream and yell just to get her to come out tonight. You don't want to know what I had to go to get her to transform," he admitted quietly. "She'll be alright, though, I think."

"And you?" she asked gently.

Vegeta's jaw tightened a little at that and he shook his head. "Drop it, woman. I'm fucking fine."

"Sorry, Vegeta, I didn't mean to pry. Reporter's instinct." Karen took his grunt to mean that he accepted her apology, and stayed quiet for the rest of the trip. But when they landed outside a darkened arcade, she frowned.

"It's not closed," Usagi informed her, and gave a patterned tap on the glass. The lights came on behind the shades, but to the average person, it still looked closed for business.

Motoki's eyes went wide when he opened the door. "Usag—" Then he noticed their guest and snapped his mouth shut. "Um—uh, I mean, Sailor Moon?"

Vegeta and Sailor Moon both snorted identically at that and rolled their eyes in unison. "Baka," they both uttered, before exchanging a smirk. "She knows," Usagi informed him, before shooing them all inside and locking the door behind them. "Toki's been a friend since we were all fourteen and just starting out. He's been feeding us late at night ever since he found out who we really were." She scooted into a booth with Vegeta next to her, and Karen sat across from them. "So… I have to ask, how did you figure it out?"

Karen looked sad for a moment and shook her head. "The death of the heir to Capsule Corp coincided with… with what had happened. I noticed after watching some videos that their faces were identical, if you totally ignored the hair and the eye color. Then when Briefs Usagi couldn't be reached for comment due to falling ill…" She shrugged. "That last part was a hunch, because even if you weren't her, no one would have blamed you for not fighting anymore." Now Karen looked concerned and worried. "Did you really fall ill?"

She nodded slowly and detransformed in her seat, then felt Vegeta's ki drop to normal. "Tousan took care of me. I don't remember much. They said I went into stasis from the shock, which means that I nearly died… this is all off the record, right?" Usagi asked with a hint of suspicion.

"Usagi, unless you tell me we're on the record, always consider anything you tell me to be privileged," Karen replied warmly.

She swallowed and thanked Motoki when he set a cup of coffee, a milkshake, and a platter of food in front of each of them before taking a seat at the stool to the side of their table to listen in. "Anyway, Mercury's best guess was that the shock nearly killed me, Tousan said it was partly because of the lack of the mating bond."

"Ok, you have to explain, Usagi. Vegeta referred to himself as mated, rather than married a couple times already." Karen began to tear into her burger while Vegeta explained. His daughter was still too skinny in his opinion and needed to eat, not talk.

"So, it's a bond stronger than basically anything?" Karen finally asked, once Vegeta was finished.

"Hai," Usagi answered a little sullenly, missing—not for the first time—the feel of Trunks in the back of her mind, there to talk to or comfort her if she needed him.

"Sorry, honey," the reporter said gently, squeezing the blonde woman's hand briefly. "So, on to a happy topic?" She grinned a little. "I was hoping you'd make a showing in the next world tournament."

Usagi vehemently shook her head. "No, sorry. I'd have to transform to stand a chance against Tousan or my son, and I don't want that kind of publicity."

Karen blinked at that. "You have a son?"

"So much for your reporter's skills," Vegeta chuckled. "Geta's very private, like me. He stays out of the spotlight and attends classes in another city."

"Geta?" She smiled at that. "They named him after you."

"Vegeta the fourth," Usagi supplied with a proud smile. "Other than the blue eyes, he's identical to Tousan. He's a good boy, and a superb warrior."

They made small talk after that while they all chowed down, and as usual, Motoki just listened in and enjoyed having Usagi back in his business once again. It was three in the morning before they headed home, and Vegeta went straight to bed after giving his daughter a brief, tight hug and telling her he was proud of her.

Usagi went upstairs with a sad smile on her face, but it brightened when she cut on her light and found Goku sitting on her bed. "Hey!" She whispered loudly. "What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep," he replied softly, "and I heard you were going on patrol tonight. I just thought I'd stop by and tell you that I'm proud of you. Trunks would be, too."

Bending forward, she pecked him on the mouth. "Thank you, Kakarot." He looked awfully sad to her, and she frowned. "Are you alright?"

"I haven't been able to sleep," he admitted. Her scent was helping calm the raging hormones, though. Goku sighed, his eyes closing in surrender when she stroked her hand lightly over his face. "I miss having a female in the bed with me," he said miserably.

"Hang on, just let me change, alright? Keep your eyes closed for a moment." Usagi stripped when she glanced over to find his eyes closed, and quickly threw on a tshirt and a pair of shorts. "There. Though…" Usagi frowned. "Are you and Tousan still bitching?"

"Ugh… yeah," Goku groaned quietly. "You're right, Usa. I'm sorry, I was just desperate for a friend. I'd better go home before your father flips the fuck out and tries to Final Flash me." He secretly smiled to himself when she grabbed his arm before his hand could go to his forehead. His plan was working! He wouldn't claim her, no, and he wouldn't tell her yet, but he would get to snuggle up to the glorious scent and that perfect body, and actually get a good night's sleep without worrying about Vegeta barging in.

"Well, let's just go back to your house, then. I mean, Tousan's not dumb enough to intrude on your territory, right?" Vegeta's words in the gravity room came back to her then and she inwardly flinched. Afterwords, he'd sworn that he hadn't meant a word of it, that he'd only said those things to egg her into transforming, but… the first part of it bothered her. Was she really developing feelings outside of friendship for Kakarot, of all people?

"You alright?" Goku asked seriously. Damn it, she wasn't going to do it. Either she suspected, or she didn't want to upset Vegeta.

"Fine," she lied, as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Come on, I'm tired already. Long night."

They were in Goku's darkened room in a flash, and he hushed her. "Gohan's dozing on the couch. Ami's fertile and he's trying not to get her pregnant." It wasn't a lie at least.

"Heh, poor guy." Usagi let him tug her under the covers with him, but when he pulled her into his arms and began to purr as he buried his face in her hair… it was different than the last two times. This… this didn't feel friendly. There was a tension she hadn't felt with him before, an awareness of him as a man that she hadn't really acknowledged until that moment. And his scent… God, his scent was so damned strong, stronger than it had ever been, and it was making her think of sinful things in dark places.

Then his face moved to sniff her neck and he groaned softly. "Usagi… we need to get you back home, now. You can't stay here."

"Huh?" She asked in surprise, forgetting her previous thoughts. At least until she felt him pressing against her thigh, hard and ready. Usagi turned bright red and fought the urge not to rub up against it. "K—Kakarot? What's going on?"

"You're in heat," he practically sobbed, clutching her tightly to his chest. "Kami, it smells so damned good," he added with a nuzzle to the pale skin of her throat.

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry, I didn't know I was fertile, Goku. I used to keep track… but I haven't had a period in so long from the malnutrition and the stress… fuck." Usagi tried to ignore the way his tail was swishing a little as his beast tried to spread his scent even further into the air, trying to entice her to mate. "It's just because we're both unmated, right?" She asked a little nervously.

Goku just nodded; it wasn't a total lie. Even if he hadn't felt the pull for her, he would still want to claim her right then. The scent of an unmated, fertile female in general would make it difficult to fight his instincts after so long without a woman. It was only even harder since he knew she was his. "Tell me to take you home," he groaned. "I don't think I can do it unless you actually tell me to. The beast… he's… he's being very stubborn right now."

Usagi gasped as he ground his arousal into her and heard him moan softly. God, she needed to go home, and now. But part of her, mostly the part of her that hadn't been with a man in nearly a year, sure as hell wanted her to stay. "Goku, I…" She licked her lips and clutched at him a little when he moved against her once more.

That undid him, and he was rolling on top of her before he could stop himself, kissing her like he would die if he didn't, and to his gleeful surprise, she was kissing him back, rocking her hips upward in a blatant invitation. "Usagi," he groaned, when her hand slid between them to stroke him through his gi. "Kami, don't do that, I'll—I'll lose control."

"We'll just give each other some relief," she whispered heatedly, pulling at his gi top, "that's all. I need it too, Kakarot."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," he moaned in response, his mouth moving over her throat with a mind of its own. "What if I can't st—" Then he felt her hand slide down his pants to encircle him, and her touch—the touch he'd been aching to feel for months—made him come almost immediately. "Dear Kami," he whimpered, shaking as she kissed him tenderly.

"See? Better, right?" She whispered sexily. When Goku nodded, still breathing heavily against her neck, she chuckled. "Are you alright?" She asked gently. Oh God, what if—"You're not mad at me, are you?" She added in a whisper.

"Mad?" He asked incredulously. Kami, he was the opposite of mad! And he felt _great_, he felt in control for the first time since he'd felt the pull!

"Kakarot?" She whispered after a long moment of silence. God, if he didn't start touching her soon, she was going to burn up. His scent… God his scent was arousing her like nothing she'd ever experienced before, and she was going to die without some relief.

"I'll take care of you," he whispered back, bending his head to her mouth to kiss her slowly, as his hands slid up her shirt and his tail pulled her shorts down. Usagi's moan of desire had him kissing her harder, sliding his tongue into her mouth as his fingers trailed down her body to her mound and pressed into her folds.

"Yes, please, Kakarot," she whimpered softly, arching her hips into his hand. Usagi cried out a little as he slowly began to stroke her nub, and didn't last any longer than he had, shuddering and clutching at him tightly as a tsunami of pleasure rushed through her body. "Yes, Goku… feels so good… oh, God…"

He sighed happily as she relaxed against him and nibbled at a scar on his chest while he purred with delight. He wanted her still, but his beast was satisfied for the time being. "Feel better?" He chuckled.

"Extremely," she purred in response, and jumped a little when he tugged her shirt over her head and rolled them both back onto their sides.

"Pants and shorts stay on," he assured her. "It's just nice like this," he added sleepily, and pulled the covers back up around him. "In the morning, if I… is that alright?"

Usagi nodded and smirked a little against his chest. "That's fine," she sighed, "I've never complained about being woken up with an earth-shaking orgasm, and I don't think I'm going to start anytime soon."

**So, we have a friends with benefits situation beginning, but it probably won't last long lol. Oh, Vegeta's going to flip the fuck out in the morning when he finds her gone… bwahahahahaha. **


	4. Caught

**WOW, I've gotten so many reviews over the last few days for so many fics! I'm so glad yall like them all! Update: YES, I AM WORKING ON HISTORY! I've just kinda hit a block and I'm working through it, sorry. This fic is a about done, don't worry, and I'm sure you'll LOVE the end of this chapter… love you guys so much, and thank you for reviewing! Please continue to do so!**

Geta blinked as the door to the gravity room slammed open and Vegeta stalked in. "Paw Paw?"

"Your mother. Where the fuck is she?" He snarled, looking around despite the fact that it was obvious that Geta was alone.

The younger Saiyan blinked at that and searched for her ki, expanding his search in ever-widening circles. According to his senses, she wasn't even on the planet. "What the hell…? Could she be masking it or something, maybe? Huh… but that's not like Mom. Did you call Aunt Rei or Aunt Ami? Maybe she's at the clearing with Aunt Mako?"

"Not yet," he grunted. "I didn't want to alarm them." Was it possible that their patrol had been too much for her emotionally and she had run off to be alone for a while? Vegeta didn't know, but he was sure Usagi would have at least left him a note if she needed some space. She _knew_ how much he worried about her.

Geta watched as his grandfather's expression slowly became hard and unreadable; he knew that look all too well. "What's wrong?"

"Kakarot," he growled softly, his tail swishing around him in agitation.

"Huh?" Then it dawned on him. "Paw Paw… did your fight with Kakarot have anything to do with Mom?" The glare that was shot his way answered his question. "What happened, Paw Paw?"

"Nothing, brat," Vegeta snapped. "It's not your concern."

In a rare display of temper, the younger Saiyan snarled at him and shoved at his chest. "She's my mother, damn it! What's going on, and why have you been hovering over her non-stop? I'm not stupid, grandfather! I've noticed that you've been making excuses to keep her here, to keep her from leaving the grounds! And now you say that Kakarot's got something to do with it, and I want to know why!"

Vegeta looked away from his grandson and shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You… you can't tell her, brat. I mean it. Not. A. Word."

"I swear it on my tail," Geta replied solemnly.

"Kakarot… he's felt the pull for your mother. She doesn't know. And since she's still in mourning, she hasn't felt it for him. But she **will **feel it, and sometime soon, if she sees him on a regular basis. She's already comforted by his scent; the first time your mother left the house, she went over there and fell asleep with him holding her. She thought he was just comforting her, but it was more than that. Much more. Kakarot was staking a claim of sorts, getting his scent all over her. He's done it since then, too. He even snuck into her room yesterday just to look at her."

"And that's why you were so pissed off that morning?" It had been something like two months ago, but Geta remembered all too well the foul temper his grandfather had been in during training, and the injuries he'd come home with after leaving during the afternoon. Injuries he'd refused to explain to anyone, except to say that he and Kakarot had gotten into an argument. Now that he knew what the argument had been about, he wasn't in the least surprised to know why Kakarot had nearly met his end that day.

"Kakarot had carried her to his bedroom, Geta. _**He had her in his bed**_."

The younger Saiyan blinked at that in surprise. Thanks to his grandfather, he knew the rules about an unmated Saiyan warrior's bedroom. "But they haven't…?"

"No," Vegeta sighed with a touch of relief. "He made it perfectly clear that he's waiting for her mourning period to end. At least that's something."

"Paw Paw… I know you don't like Kakarot, but he's not the type of man to take my mother over my father's grave. Sometimes I think he has more honor than good sense." He worried his lower lip for a moment, something he'd inherited from his mother, before doing something he hadn't done since his father had died.

Vegeta stiffened when he felt his grandson's arms and tail wrap around him in a tight embrace, but gradually relaxed and returned it. "Paw Paw, he'll never fill father's shoes. Ever. But if mom has any chance at happiness, any chance at all… then I think we should support it. She could have died with him, or while she was in stasis, or in the months when she'd lost the will to live." Geta slowly looked up at his grandfather, tears shining in his blue eyes, the only feature that didn't match Vegeta's. "I don't want to lose her too, Paw Paw. What happens if you try to keep them apart? She could relapse."

"Ugh… sometimes you're too much like your mother, brat," Vegeta grumbled, but not without a hint of love in his voice as he embraced him in a crushing hug, before shoving him off in typical Vegeta fashion. "I'll _think_ about it," he growled. "But for now, let's find her so I can chew her the fuck out."

#########################

Usagi moaned softly as she began to wake up, and her hands instantly clutched at the hard, muscular body on top of her as pleasure began to wash through her. "Oh my God…" She suddenly remembered the night before and blushed at the memory as the fingers between her legs began to stroke her harder. She moaned again and arched against him as she tugged at his pants, but when he grunted and shook his head against the nipple he had in his mouth, she settled for doing as she'd done the night before.

She was rewarded with a groan and the sound of him purring low in his chest as she stroked him slowly, marveling at how damned big he was. Sweet Selene, apparently all Saiyans had it going on for them below the waistline.

Yet again, neither of them lasted long, and if it hadn't been for Goku's quick thinking, they would have both cried out loudly—loud enough to likely be heard in the living room. But his mouth descended to hers and their moans of pleasure were muffled by the action as she came first, and he right behind her.

"Good morning," he purred happily in her ear, as soon as he could function past the haze of the afterglow.

"Yes it is," she replied with a chuckle. "Very, very good." Usagi sighed in contentment as he rolled them back onto their sides, and snuggled up to his chest while she drew in the scent of the sun. "I swear, your scent's even stronger than it was last night."

Goku yawned and stretched a little bit before curling around possessively and purring his head off. "It's because you're fertile. My inner Saiyan is trying to stake a claim and get its scent all over you," he answered honestly. Never mind that it had been trying to do that for months; her being in heat had little to do with it.

"Well, I hope he's not too disappointed when I wash it off. Tou—oh, fuck me running."

"Hm?" Goku looked down at her in concern when she stiffened in his arms suddenly before bolting out of bed and searching the floor for her top. "What's wrong?"

"Tousan!" Usagi snapped at him in alarm. "He's going to lose his fucking shit if he comes upstairs and finds me gone, Kakarot! Oh God, he'll be so worried," she groaned, holding her forehead in her hand. "I need to shower, right now, and I need you to IT me somewhere close to home, ok?"

He sighed and nodded; he'd hoped to keep her there for the whole day, but he knew it was merely wishful thinking. There was no way in hell Vegeta could find out about this, and if she stayed with him much longer, the Saiyan prince was sure to come hunting… if he wasn't already. When he heard his shower turn on, followed by Usagi stepping in, Goku closed his eyes and made a happy little noise in the back of his throat. "All mine," he whispered cheerfully. "Not quite yet, but soon."

Goku laid back, hands behind his head, and simply basked in the glory of having that delicious scent all over him and his bed. Usagi could wash his scent off, he could live with that, but he'd be damned if he was getting rid of hers anytime soon. "You smell divine, you know," he commented as he heard her exit the shower.

"You don't smell too bad yourself," she chuckled. Usagi was blushing when she stepped into the bedroom, wrapped only in a towel. What they had done had hit her in the shower, and she was feeling a strange mixture of guilt, happiness, and excitement. And the look he was giving her wasn't helping any of those emotions. "So…" She sighed and frowned.

Goku held up his hand to stop her from finishing that sentence; he'd been awake for a little while before he'd decided to give her an alarm clock orgasm, and had already gone over everything she could possibly say and every protest. Sure, he wasn't quite as crafty as Vegeta, but his inner beast sure as hell was good at planning a battle strategy. And this _was_ a battle of sorts. "I won't pretend like this didn't happen, Usagi. Let's get that straight."

Usagi sighed and nodded; somehow she'd known it wouldn't be as simple as chalking this up to a one-time thing between friends. But was that really so bad? For one night, she'd enjoyed the touch of a man who had absolutely set her on fire, almost as if he really were the sun, and not just a Saiyan that smelled like one. And they hadn't even had sex! At that thought, she smirked. "I don't suppose it's even possible to go all the way without things getting very complicated, is it?"

Goku nodded seriously. "I'd bite you. I don't think any Saiyan would have enough control not to bite while making love." He smiled at her blush. "But… it doesn't mean we can't do other things."

"Friends with benefits?" Usagi asked with interest. Now **that** was an intriguing idea. "Huh… I'm strangely ok with that." Minako had done that sort of thing plenty of times in the past, so why in the hell couldn't she, damn it? She'd have to contact her in the future somehow and ask her how it was done.

"If that's what you want to call it," he replied. The Saiyan in him called it courting, but he wasn't about to start playing semantics with her when he was getting what he wanted. She'd be his soon enough, she just didn't know it yet.

"Let me get dressed real quick, before someone comes pounding on the door, Kakarot." Usagi dropped the towel; it wasn't like he hadn't touched her everywhere in the last eight hours, anyway. Now he'd just get to see what he'd been touching… and it looked like he was really appreciating the view. "Nope," she said quickly, holding up a hand to stop him when he sat up, clearly planning on dragging her back into his bed. Her other hand was fishing in her subspace, where it pulled out a pair of jeans, a new tank top, and some underwear.

Goku devoured her with his eyes and just barely managed to hold onto his self-control long enough to keep from throwing her down and making her as insane with need as he was. "I want you again," he said flatly.

Blushing at such a bold statement, Usagi was tempted, but managed to shake her head. "Tousan's going to come looking any moment, and you know it." Finished throwing on her clothes, she tucked the clothes that smelled like him into her subspace, followed by leaping out of her skin at the sound of a knock on the bedroom door.

"It's just me," came Ami's exasperated voice. She could practically see them exchanging looks behind the door, Usagi giving Goku a nervous look, clearly asking him what they should do.

"It's fine, Ami," Goku said pleasantly, as he hid the towel that had been on the floor.

Mercury swung the door open and gave them both her best I-know-what-happened look. "Vegeta's on the warpath, just thought I'd let you know. Tousan's ki is so high that it's blotting yours out, but he's sending Geta over here to look for you." She spied the fact that Usagi hadn't been bitten and nearly sighed with relief. "Do I even want to ask what happened?"

Usagi's jaw dropped and she blushed furiously. "Ami-chan! How dare you suggest… oh my God!" Judging from the guilty look on her friend's face, Usagi decided she should have become an actress. "Goku just had trouble sleeping last night, and I could hardly deny him a friend after all of his kindness." She rolled her eyes and stomped past Ami before eyeing Gohan, silently daring him to open his mouth.

Utilizing her leadership skills, she pointed to the kitchen. "I came over for a late breakfast and to hang out for a little bit with Ami-chan. That'll satisfy Tousan so he doesn't fly off the handle." She blushed at the feel of Goku's hand on her shoulder. "What **did** you two fight about, anyway?"

"I'd still rather not talk about it," he answered tersely.

"Tousan," Ami said carefully, "you might want to change clothes." She rolled her eyes at Usagi when she spotted the damp front of Goku's gi pants. "And Usa, you're not fooling anyone," she added tartly, followed by a satisfied smirk at the sight of the princess's face.

_Oh, Blue, I wish I had a camera so I could see that guilty blush more than once_, Gohan chuckled in her mind.

_Hush, love. This is a delicate matter. We won't ask questions, we'll just support it and try to hide it from Vegeta for as long as we can. _

_ But how did he not bite her?_

_ Third base, I'm assuming, _Ami replied with a touch of disgust. _How can you even talk about your father getting off without being grossed out?_

_ Fuck if I know, Blue. He's a Saiyan male, I know all about what kind of needs we have. _"Ok," he said out loud, "the idea of you cooking is scary, Usagi, so all of you hit the couch while I start breakfast. And if Vegeta ever finds out about this—"

"I know," Usagi assured him, "you didn't know shit about it."

They were all sitting companionably on the couch when the expected knock on the door came and Ami called for whomever it was to come on in. "Hey, sweetheart!" Usagi called brightly, when she heard her son call out to her. "Shouldn't you be sparring with Tousan?"

"Yeah, but when we couldn't find you…" Geta shrugged and eyed her and Goku suspiciously for a moment before deciding that nothing was going on. "Did you catch the news this morning?" He asked sheepishly.

"Sweet Selene, I'll bet it was interesting," Usagi chuckled. "Please tell me you taped it. Has Tousan seen it yet?"

"Nope, he was waiting for you before he watched it. I will say this, though. That reporter is in fucking love with him or something." He grinned when his mother laughed and nodded. "Paw Paw's going to shit the bed when she hears her call him the sexiest man she's ever laid her damned eyes on."

"Oh my God," Usagi chuckled. "She was checking him out so hard last night, too. I can't blame her, though; Tousan **is **the sexiest man on the planet." The princess discreetly poked the Saiyan at her side with her elbow when she heard him growl just under his breath.

"Ok, food's ready!" Gohan called, and any other conversation was cut off as Goku and Usagi beat everyone to the table and proceeded to chow down while Ami and her mate merely stared a little. "I'll never get used to seeing the way she can eat," he chuckled.

"She's eating better than she has in a long time," Geta informed him, and seeing that, he was comfortable with the idea of Kakarot and his mother; if he could get her back to how she'd been before his father's passing, it would be completely worth it. "Anyway, I have training to get back to, and then I'm going to go hunt Rissi down."

"She's sixteen in a month, isn't she?" Usagi asked with her mouth full, her eyes glittering with mischief. When her son smirked and nodded, she just chuckled. "Goten's going to try and beat the hell out of you."

"He can try," he replied seriously, "but he'll lose. Rissi's mine."

Goku grinned good-naturedly at that and shook his head. "Ah, young love. I'm sure you'll take good care of my granddaughter, Geta."

Heh, Kakarot wasn't all bad. "I will, Uncle Kaka," he chuckled.

Usagi rolled her eyes and shooed him out the door, then smiled gently as she felt his ki head home. "My baby's growing up."

"They do that, you know," Goku quipped. Maybe he could give her a few more, if she wanted them.

Once they'd finished eating, Gohan and Ami left after privately discussing through the bond that Goku would probably need some time to discuss whatever had happened in the bedroom that morning. Usagi blushed once they were alone, and made a point of keeping busy by clearing the table so she could avoid any contact with him. That was futile, of course, since his beast had other ideas. "No, Kakarot, I think you've had enough."

"I'll tell you when I've had enough," he chuckled in response, bending his head to lick and kiss at her throat. Goku laughed and nipped at her when she pulled away. "It was a joke, Usa. I'm satisfied. At least for now, anyway."

"Thank Kami for that, because I need to get home before Tousan comes looking in person. So… ground rules?" She asked hesitantly.

"I really don't have any," he admitted, "since I don't give a shit who knows about us."

"Whoa! Ok, Kakarot, let's get one thing straight," she said hotly, setting the dishes in the sink. "There is no 'us.' This is strictly physical. We're not dating, we're not going to mate, and we're going to keep it secret so Tousan never ever finds out." She sighed when his smile turned into a deep scowl. "Look, you're my _friend_, Kakarot. My best friend, outside of the girls, and I can never repay you for… for _everything _you've done for me." She sighed wearily and plopped down at the kitchen table. "But I'll never mate again, or get married. So if we need to make last night and this morning a onetime thing, I'm fine with that. I won't ruin our friendship by making you a booty call that wants something more."

Goku inwardly ground his teeth at her words, but kept the beast at bay by reminding it that he had a plan, damn it. He'd wear her down. It'd take some time, but he'd do it and at least get some relief in the process. "Ok," he said after a long moment of thought, "what are your ground rules?"

Usagi blinked; she'd been totally expecting him to tell her no, that they'd just go back to the way things were. "Wow, um… alright. Ami and Gohan know, but I don't think they'll squeal. Let's just keep it private for now, alright? And you can't pop in at Capsule Corp whenever you want some, it's just too dangerous. If Tousan sensed your ki…"

Goku nodded at that; he completely agreed. "Do I call then, or something?"

"Yeah, on my communicator, or text my cell phone. Then I'll meet you somewhere, or make sure it's safe for you to pop in and IT us both to a safe place. And no more sleepovers. This is too risky as it is without adding any more to it. Lemme see… if either of us says no, it's to be respected no matter what. And please try not to go all caveman and shred my clothes? Agreed?"

Goku nodded. "I have one thing. You can't get all pissy when and if my inner Saiyan acts possessive, Usa. I can't help that, and you know it. It'll get jealous, and probably treat you like a potential mate whenever we're together."

"That's fine, so long as it's only when we're together, Goku. And sorry I keep calling you Kakarot, you know I've been around Tousan way too much," she added with a blush, as she realized she hadn't once called him by his Earth name all day.

"Actually, I like it," he answered with a little smirk. "It seems fitting anyway, since you tend to bring out the Saiyan in me." Goku pulled her to him and kissed her gently. "Just you though, no one else gets to call me that. Not including Vegeta," he added with a snicker.

"Tousan calls you that to always remind you of who and what you are," Usagi said seriously. When he nodded and nipped at her collarbone, she pulled away quickly. "No teeth near the shoulder, either. Though I would hope that goes without saying. You bite me, I blast you into the seventh circle of Hell."

"Eh, I've been there," he replied nonchalantly, "it's not as bad as you'd think."

Blinking and gaping at him, Usagi made a choked noise in the back of her throat. "You are such a fucking smartass," she finally snorted. "But I'll bet you a dollar they don't have sex there."

"No, they don't," he hedged.

Usagi chuckled and kissed the tip of his nose. "Then I suggest you keep your teeth to yourself, big man."

#####################

Vegeta stiffened in surprise at the feel of two arms encircling him from behind, but almost immediately relaxed when he smelled his daughter. "You smell like Kakarot," he growled. Not strongly enough to suggest anything more than a few hugs, though. Maybe some kissing, but he didn't even want to think about that. Kami, he did **not** want to think about that! _I fucking hate you, Kakarot._

"Well, duh, Tousan," Usagi replied smoothly, "I was over there for brunch until just now. Kakarot IT'd me home a minute ago. And for the record, I'm really sorry," she added sincerely. "If I'd known his ki would blot mine out like that, I would have left a note. I didn't mean to worry you."

Vegeta grunted at that and nodded. "I know you didn't, just let me know before you leave next time. Now… I believe the boy taped something interesting while you and I were sleeping in," he added with a grin.

"I know," she laughed, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the house, "so let's go watch it and see what Karen had to say about how hot you are."

Vegeta was blushing within thirty seconds of watching the recording, and trying to hide it from his daughter as Karen grinned on screen and proclaimed him the "hottest piece of superhero she'd ever laid eyes on."

"But much to my disappointment, ladies, Miss Moon's father is very much married. Oh well, we can look at least, right!?"

"I take it you got a very good look at him, Karen?" Her co-anchor asked in amusement.

"Oh, I _did_, Dave. I got a look at that tight backside, too," she added with a little sigh and a blush. "The man is smoking hot," she finished with a tiny smirk. "Onto something besides the Sexy Warrior, everyone in South City was ecstatic to hear about Sailor Moon's return."

It cut to a clip then, of different people being interviewed, all expressing their love and support for her, emphasizing how proud they were of her for getting back on the horse. Usagi smiled at that, and looked over to find Vegeta still blushing, his face bright red. "Oh, Tousan, it wasn't that bad!"

"That woman is… _gods_, girl. She's worse than… than me! On national television, too!"

Usagi snorted at that and grinned. "No one's worse than you; and look at it this way, Tousan. It wasn't a tape of you fucking someone. I would take it as a compliment at any rate. You are fucking sexy as hell, arguably the sexiest man on Earth." _Other than Kakarot, maybe_, she added silently, unable to stop the blush creeping into her cheeks.

Vegeta didn't miss that blush, or the little dreamy smile on her lips. Fuck a duck in the ear, she was thinking about that third-class cradle robber! _You are not fucking my daughter, Kakarot! _He vowed silently, completely forgetting his previous vows to try and be understanding. Just the thought of his daughter in Kakarot's arms set his blood to boiling. "I need to go blow something up," he said flatly. "It's a Friday night, so I'll see you for patrol at sundown, girl."

"Hai, Tousan," Usagi chuckled, and rose with him to hug him tightly and peck him on the cheek.

##########################

Usagi jumped and squealed at the feel of two strong arms wrapping around her from behind and the sound of a low purring in her ears. "Kakarot," she hissed, once she realized who it was, "you can't just IT over here like that. What if Tousan had been nearby?"

"I checked," he answered smugly. "Vegeta and Geta have been in the gravity room for twenty minutes, and they're going at it hardcore. So they'll likely be in there for a couple hours." Goku grinned when she turned around and glared at him suspiciously. "Yes, I've been waiting to pounce on you for over an hour, keeping an eye on your ki."

"Ki stalker," she snorted. "And you'd better be masking yours, Tousan is going to have five different kinds of hissy fits if he senses you this close."

"Did it before I popped in," he assured her. "This is kind of exciting, you know, sneaking around your father like a couple of teenagers," he added with a laugh. "Now…" He pulled her tightly to him and ground his erection into her stomach. "…did you have someplace in mind?"

"Somewhere far from here," Usagi answered with a blush. She blinked when he immediately IT'd them, and her eyes adjusted to the dark. But they weren't inside somewhere, like she'd immediately thought; they were in a field somewhere. But it was dark outside.

"Other side of the world," he chuckled. "I figured it would take Vegeta a while to find us if we were so far away." Goku nuzzled his face into her neck and breathed in her scent as the beast came to the forefront. "Kami, you're still fertile."

"Yeah," she whispered breathlessly, as her hands snaked up his shirt to stroke the ruddy skin that covered all of those lovely muscles. "We can't let this get out of hand, ok?"

"Don't worry, we won't," he assured her, before turning his head to kiss her. God, it had only been two days, and the need he was feeling was overwhelming; it took every ounce of willpower not to throw her down right there and take her, but he somehow managed to keep it together and keep the kiss slow, gentle, and undemanding as he coaxed a soft moan from her throat.

He took that as permission to continue, and eased them both to the ground, where he stripped them both to the waist before resuming his assault on her mouth while his hands explored her breasts and stomach.

Usagi chuckled when he stopped her from removing his pants, and broke away from the kiss for a moment. "While I'm sure I can get you off with a handjob just fine, I thought you might enjoy something else a little more." The stunned look he gave her put her in stitches as she pushed up, silently ordering him to roll over. "Lay down, big man. I'm pretty sure we'll have to always make sure that you get off first to keep you from taking things too far."

Goku laid down, his hands behind his head, and gave her an easy grin. "You won't ever hear me complaining," he replied. He licked his lips in anticipation as she gripped the waist of his pants and eased them down, giving his thigh a nip and a lick before she completely removed them. He groaned when she slid back up to kiss his thighs once more, slowly working her way inwards. "Usa… I don't know how well I can take being teased," he warned.

"Heh, you're no fun," she chuckled. But she knew he was right, so she moved her mouth to his length, and was far from disappointed when he moaned loudly and bunched his fists in her hair. And all that just from a lick, too! "We can be as loud as we want out here, too, I'd imagine," she chuckled, before taking him in her mouth and sucking gently. Usagi felt a rush of satisfaction when he moaned her name loudly and lifted his hips, pleading with her silently for more. She gave it to him, taking as much as she could as she skillfully worked him with her tongue.

"Usa… Usa, I'm gonna—" Goku clutched harder at her hair when she only continued her slow ministrations, and cried out as she brought him to climax and he spilled into her. "Kami help me, Usa… that was… I don't even have words for it, woman."

Once she'd licked him clean, she looked up and gave him a sultry smile. "I figured this way, you wouldn't have to change clothes all the time, either. No messes." Usagi jumped when he suddenly pulled her up to kiss her and rolled them in one swift motion. "Well."

"Your turn," he purred, as he let the beast take over, sliding down her body to push her skirt up her hips and lick and kiss her inner thighs. Goku sighed happily as he tugged down her underwear and resisted the momentary urge to tease her; no, he'd give her all the pleasure she could ever want, and hopefully she'd want him to take her. He purred at the taste of her, since he'd only been fantasizing about this since that conversation on the couch, and he wasn't surprised to discover that she tasted as good as she smelled.

Usagi groaned and buried her fingers in his hair, arching her hips as his tongue sought out that small bundle of nerves and he began to suck lazily. "Oh, shit—Kakarot, it's—it's too much…" She whimpered when he merely gripped her hips tightly and his assault intensified as his fingers slipped inside of her and began to move. A loud, wordless moan escaped her throat as her legs went around his shoulders and she clung to him tightly, arching her hips in surrender when he wouldn't ease up or change that slow, maddening pace.

It still didn't take her long, though it felt like forever before she moaned his name loudly and bucked against him, her legs tightening around his neck just as she clamped down on his hand. She kissed him back after he'd rode out her climax and slid up her form, as her traitorous body rocked against him, seeking more than just a single orgasm.

Just as she felt him pressing into her thigh as he groaned into her mouth, she came to her senses, pushed up, and was relieved when he rolled onto his back, where she wasted no time in taking him in her mouth once more. It took longer than before, but she enjoyed every moment of making him stupid with pleasure as he purred and murmured encouragement whenever she'd do something he particularly liked.

"That wasn't fair," Goku sighed happily, once she'd swallowed everything he had to offer and slid back up to kiss him. "I owe you another one."

"Oh no, I'm good," she snorted in reply. "I nearly lost my head, same as you. We need to be more careful, Kakarot," she stated seriously.

"I'm glad to know I have such an effect on you," he chuckled, bending his face to nibble at her neck. "So, tell me. Did I live up to my previous statement?"

Judging from the look on her face, Usagi was momentarily confused, but understanding dawned after a few moments and she grinned. "Anything but slow in that department, Kakarot. I have to admit that that was pretty fucking amazing."

"Same. I'd like to do it again just to make us even, woman. You give head like some sort of sex goddess." He grinned when she giggled. "Now… we need to clean up, so grab our clothes, beautiful."

Usa snagged them just as he put his fingers to his forehead, and screamed as she landed in a body of water and started to sink. It was still dark, so she couldn't tell up from down, and nearly panicked until she felt his strong arms around her waist, lifting her towards the surface as he bent his head and breathed into her. "Oh, you prick!" Usagi yelled, once she coughed a few times and punched him in the chest.

"Sorry," he chuckled, his free hand going to the back of his head in embarrassment. "I thought you'd assume…"

Usagi rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I thought you were taking us back to your house to shower or something. Though I have to admit," she added, looking around at the quiet serenity of the small lake, "this is really nice."

"I thought you'd like it," he purred, bending his head to kiss her gently. Goku pulled her up into his arms then and began to explore her slowly while he tried his damnedest not to get hard yet again. He could still smell that she was fertile, but the beast was temporarily satisfied and simply wanted to touch and taste his mate.

Usagi let him do as he wished, ignoring the voice in the back of her mind that insisted that this was _not _just sex to him, that this lake thing was downright romantic, that it qualified as some sort of Saiyan date. It was just his beast at work, she told herself, though in her experience, the beast was anything but romantic. This was all Goku, and deep down she knew it. "Come on, let's get cleaned up," she urged him after a while of kissing and petting. "We've been gone longer than we intended, and I don't want Tousan getting his panties in a bunch."

Goku sighed and nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. He could feel her stiffen while he'd been kissing her, could tell by her body language that she wasn't ok with the part of him that was trying to court her romantically. He'd have to fix that somehow, and soon.

####################

Usagi checked her cell phone and chuckled at the missed messages from Goku; God that man was such a horndog! She relented when she saw that both messages just wanted to know if she was going on patrol, to be safe, and the second was to ask what she felt like popping in after Vegeta had gone to bed. Just snuggling, no sex. "Ugh, I don't suppose I can whine about that being a relationship thing when it was a friend thing before we started this mess." It had been three weeks, and on average they'd met every other day for mind-blowing make-out sessions that always ended in them using their hands or mouths to bring the other to climax as they clung to each other and tried not to let things spiral out of control. Except for the five days of her period, of course, but he'd still made sure he was available as her friend during those days, that he would appreciate her company if she wanted to come over and just hang out.

More than once they'd come dangerously close to going too far, and Usagi had even had to use her light on him the last time to calm things down when his beast got out of hand. She was alright with it, though. It had been her fault for teasing him anyway, and she'd felt a secret little thrill when he'd pinned her arms behind her head and pressed into her folds. She'd barely stopped them in time, too, flooding him with her light just as he'd moved to take her. In fact, she'd been sorely tempted not to stop him, to finally feel him thrusting into her with that Saiyan fury that she knew he was capable of.

Goku had been ridiculously apologetic afterward, checking her over carefully for bruises, his eyes tearing up a little when he saw the dark circles around her wrists. She'd assured him that she was fine, that it had been totally her fault for playing with his inner Saiyan, and that she wasn't mad. He'd silently laid her back down at that and had brought her to climax so gently and tenderly that she'd been worried since then if this whole thing was starting to get emotionally out of hand… and not just on his part, either, she was starting to realize.

She couldn't help that her thoughts were focused on him as she flew with Vegeta to the city to start their patrol; things had finally been returning to normal in the city, the novelty of her return was finally wearing off, and criminals were being their normal, violent and annoying selves. She was a little relieved at that, she'd been through several packs of tissues since her return; it seemed like every robber or purse thief wanted to apologize to her for Trunks's murder. Not that she didn't appreciate it, but Usagi just wanted some normalcy.

"It's going to be a busy night," Vegeta chuckled, as he turned on the scanner and heard a call already coming in; an armed robbery only a few blocks away. "Let's go kick some fucking ass, girl."

"You're starting to like this way too much, Tousan," Usagi chuckled as she jumped off the roof and flew towards the address of the convenience store. "Oh, there he is," she said brightly, darting towards the ground to tackle a man running with a bag full of cash and a gun in his hand.

"No, girl!" Vegeta roared, ascending to level two to catch up and jerk the gun from the robber's hand, just as he turned his wrist to point it at her head. In his fury he snapped his wrist and crushed every bone in his hand, making him scream. "Oh, you want mercy, huh?" You should have thought of that before you tried to kill my daughter," he snarled.

Usagi punched the man in the face, knocking him out, and turned to Vegeta. "I had it under control," she sighed.

"The fuck you did, girl," he snapped. "That was one of the most careless things I've ever seen you do! You could have been killed!" Vegeta raged. He broke the gun cleanly in half before dumping it in the bag of money, and looked around at the staring spectators; it was a Saturday night and there was plenty of foot traffic out on the sidewalks. "WHAT!?" He yelled, "you've never seen a man scream at his daughter before!? Mind you own fucking business!"

Damn it, he'd used that tone and look back when he'd been the bad guy and had made entire populations tremble… but these people only gave him knowing grins before they returned to their business. At least a few of them were calling out their agreements, that Sailor Moon had been reckless and deserved a royal chewing out. "See? They think I'm right, too. Here," he grunted, shoving the bag into her arms, so he could stoop and sling the criminal over his shoulder, "let's drop this off with the cops so I can properly scream at you for an hour."

They walked the half-block to the convenience store where a news crew and the cops were already waiting, and Vegeta unceremoniously dumped the robber at a sergeant's feet, daring him to say something about the crushed hand and wrist, before he followed his daughter, who was stepping into the store with the cash. He found her healing the clerk, who had been hit by a bullet in the arm. "That was really stupid, girl," he said flatly.

"Sorry, Tousan, it won't happen again. Thank you for coming to my rescue," she said absently, eyes closed as she concentrated on healing the wound. "There," she finally said, "all done."

"Thank you, Sailor Moon," the middle-aged man said respectfully. He pointed at Vegeta, then. "You take good care of her, she's the light of this world."

"If only you really knew," the Saiyan grunted in response. "Come on, girl. I hate the press."

######################

"I need you, Usa," he breathed in her ear, reaching around to cup her breast. "Please, Usa, wake up. I need you so badly."

Usagi rolled over and blinked at him sleepily. "Kakarot? Ugh, honey… you're really breaking rule number one a lot lately, and it was a long night on patrol." Then he took her hand in his and pressed it to his groin, and she realized why. She was sure if it hadn't been dark she would have seen that his pupils were dilated and he was extremely flushed; his skin was already burning up. She'd been through this with Trunks, but it was a very rare occurrence, in her experience.

"Saiyan hormones," he choked out. "Please Usa, please make the burning go away." Goku moaned in relief when she nodded, and he instantly IT'd them to his bedroom. "Thank you, Usa, Thank you. I need you so damned badly that it hurts."

"Lay down, Kakarot," she whispered, pushing up on his chest. "I've got what you need."

"Yes," he growled softly in reply, as she tugged down his pants and immediately took him in her mouth, "yes, you do, woman." That growl turned into a throaty purr, followed by a moan, as she worked him slowly, just how he liked, taking as much of him as her small mouth could possibly fit. "I want to take you right now, Usagi. Kami, just stop that and let me have you, woman."

She sighed a little and shook her head as she merely continued to pleasure him, and could practically feel his disappointment when he came in her mouth, rather than between her thighs. "Kakarot, please tell me that's your inner Saiyan talking and not you."

"Oh, you want it too, woman," he snorted impatiently, tugging her down to him to kiss her passionately. Goku merely attacked her mouth with his own once more when she tried to pull away and voice a protest, and used his tail to yank down her panties. His hand didn't move, though, and his tongue only continued to duel with hers.

Usagi jumped and squirmed when she felt his tail pressing between her legs, and bit down on his lip when it pushed inside of her. "Kakarot, what are you…!?"

"Tell me that you don't like it and I'll stop," he breathed hoarsely in her ear, as he plunged his tail deeper, filling her before he withdrew and thrust it into her again, setting a steady rhythm that had her moaning immediately. "That's what I thought, woman. This is what you wanted, wasn't it? For me to finally fuck you."

His smug tone made her flinch, and she shoved upwards in an attempt to push him away. She only found herself pinned with her wrists above her head as his tail continued to move, thrusting harder and deeper. "No, Kakarot, stop," she gasped, despite the pleasure building low in her belly, a type of orgasm she hadn't felt and had been craving for nearly a year. "This isn't what I want, damn it, stop it!"

"You are so full of shit," he growled. "You want me to take you almost as badly as I do, woman. So just shut up and enjoy it."

Usagi called on her light and instantly flooded him with it, pushing him off of her as he went limp and stopped the sweet assault between her legs. "No means no, Kakarot! Stupid Saiyan males, I swear!" She yelled at him. "No, stay put," she snapped as she grabbed her underwear from the foot of the bed, "I can fly myself home, asshole."

Usagi had just opened the front door when it was yanked out of her grasp, slammed shut, and she was pressed against it by an ascended Saiyan. "Kakarot, I'm warning you, if I go Sailor Moon, Tousan is going to sense it and so are the girls. So let me the fuck go." Hopefully this was just some sort of Saiyan posturing, because he was really starting to scare the hell out of her.

Goku could smell her fear, and closed his eyes in an attempt to get a handle on the mix of hormones and emotions that were running out of control. "Won't hurt you," he ground through his teeth; God, his beast was almost completely in control, and it would not be caged despite the ridiculously good blowjob she'd just given him. "Just calm down, Usagi. Please. I'm not in control right now. I wasn't then, either."

"Here," she relented, reaching up to cup his jaw and use her light once more. "Relax, Kakarot. That's it." Usagi used her free hand to run through his hair as he sagged against her and his hair and eyes melted to black. "Come on, you need sleep, and I'm going home. That was a little too much for one night." Her tone wasn't accusing, but it was firm. "We'll talk in the morning."

The moment her light had faded, the beast was back with a vengeance. "No," he ground through his teeth, "you aren't going anywhere."

Usagi gasped with pain when he pressed her tightly to the door, and sighed as she powered up a ki blast in her hand and blew the door out behind her, using his surprise to his advantage to dart out of reach. "You were hurting me," she snapped, as she hovering in midair, her henshin broach clasped in one hand.

Goku trembled against the doorjamb, his fists clenching as he tried to regain some control. "It burns so much," he moaned. "I'm so sorry, Usa, I just—I can't—please, Usagi. Please don't go. Do the light thing again," he added desperately. "It made the burning go away… it was like the moonlight was cooling off the heat of the sun or something."

Usagi sighed and relented, floating back down to him to wrap her arms around him and use her light once more. "This happened to Trunks about once every year or two, Kakarot. What did you do for it?"

"Chi-Chi would send the boys to Bulma's when they were younger, and we'd just make love until it went away. It didn't burn as long as we were mating, and I've never felt it burn for such a long time." Goku scooped her up and nearly sobbed with relief when she didn't protest him carrying her back to his bed. "What did you and Trunks do?"

"The same, but it happened once when I was pregnant with Geta and he had a really hard time of it. Tousan said it's some sort of mating drive; I guess we should be grateful that I'm not in heat at the same time. That's how Rei wound up pregnant with Goshen. Just relax," she added, increasing her light when he began to shake in her arms again. The tremors didn't stop, and she looked down at him in alarm in the dim lighting. "What's wrong, Kakarot? This isn't normal."

"It's because he smells _**me**_," Vegeta snarled from the bedroom doorway.

**Ooooh, shit. XD**


	5. That Word

**Finally! The last chapter! **

He hadn't been shaking from fear; he'd been shaking from the strain of containing the urge to kill. The scent of another male intruding while he'd been trying to claim his mate was sending his inner Saiyan into a whole new level of rage for him; it was something he'd never quite experienced before, even when fighting every enemy he'd come up against.

Usagi tried to hang on to Goku as he leapt out of the bed, going straight to the peak of his power level in the span of a second and flying right at Vegeta, yelling out a Saiyan battle cry that spoke of pain and punishment for intruding on his territory.

"**Kakarot, NO**!" Usagi shouted, jumping to the floor to dart out front, where her father was taking a pounding from a pair of ham-sized fists, despite the fact that he'd also ascended to level three. Without hesitation, she flew up behind him and tried to use her light, but he merely shrugged her off as he swung down and broke Vegeta's jaw with a snarl of rage. "Please stop!" She cried. "Moon Crystal Power Make Up!" Usagi yelled desperately, and the moment an opening came, she put herself in front of Vegeta in a protective stance, her knees trembling as she waited for Goku to strike her. The fist that was swinging stopped just in front of her face, and the man behind it growled a warning at her. "Please don't, Kakarot," she said weakly. "He's my father."

"Fine," Goku's inner Saiyan grunted, "you come with me and I leave him alone."

"Let me heal him," Usagi said gently, giving him a nod, "and I'll come with you."

"You will let me have you," he replied flatly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Too bad for him, she was arguing anyway. "No, Kakarot. But I will come with you if that's what you want. We can do whatever you want, except for _that_." When he moved like he was going to attack Vegeta again, she ascended to Neo Queen Serenity and glared at him, her eyes daring him to even try and hurt her father. "You heard me, Kakarot. Those are my terms. Either way, you will not lay a finger on my father again, unless you want me to reject you. And believe me, I **will** if you push the issue; you will never see me again. Ever."

Kakarot wasn't happy, but there wasn't much he could say to that and hope to win. "Heal him, then. Hurry the hell up," he grunted.

Serenity immediately turned and healed a wide-eyed Vegeta, who was telling her in that one look not to do it, not to go with him. "I'll be fine, Tousan," she whispered in Saiyan. "I can handle him with my light, I think; that's what I was doing before you barged in," she added dryly. "And I _had_ it under control. He's just focusing that Saiyan mating drive on an available female, and that happens to be me." Usagi kept her hand on him, still acting like she was healing him so she could continue to talk, despite the fact that she'd just finished. "Now, you are going to go home, and I am going to go with him, and as soon as he's better I'll contact you and let you know I'm fine. Ok?"

"Girl, you've got some serious balls to risk being mated to him," Vegeta stated with a touch of awe.

"Kakarot won't hurt me, I don't think so, anyway. Tousan, he stopped before he could hit me, even though the punch was intended for you. He still stopped in time."

"Woman, your time is up," the taller Saiyan grunted. "Now either come with me willingly, or I take you kicking and screaming. Your choice."

Serenity stood, folding her arms over her chest, and regarded him seriously. "You do realize that I could simply ascend to Cosmos and beat your ass?"

"Yes, but you hate that form, and will only use it as a last resort," he countered.

Vegeta stood behind his daughter and eyed the other Saiyan with pure hatred. "Kakarot, if you harm my daughter…" He shook his head. "You might be able to win, Kakarot, but I swear that I'll try my damnedest to take you down with me."

"He will not harm me, Prince Vegeta," Serenity said regally, stepping forward to place her hand in Goku's. "Now go home, stay away, and warn the others to steer clear as well," she added, as she let the hormonal Saiyan male lead her back inside. Usagi sighed in relief as she reverted to her normal form and she felt Vegeta's ki move away from Goku's territory.

Kakarot didn't take his eyes off her for a moment as he ushered her into the bedroom, closed and locked the door, and put up a ki shield in front of it for good measure. No one was disturbing them anytime soon, since no one but Usagi or Vegeta had a prayer of getting through that shield. "Now, where were we?" He asked as he stalked towards her, dropping his power down to Super Saiyan one.

"Lay down," Usagi whispered gently. She climbed in when he tugged her hand and pulled her to his chest, and she immediately flooded him with her light once more. But his hair and eyes didn't change, and she worried if they were past keeping his beast in check due to Vegeta's interruption. "Relax, Kakarot."

"I want you _now_," he growled. "Let me claim you, woman."

"No," Usagi replied quietly, closing her eyes. "I'll never…" She swallowed back sudden tears; why did this hurt so much? "Never again," she finished.

"Look at me," he ordered, tipping her chin up. "Open your eyes." Goku had avoided this since he was fairly sure he knew she'd feel the pull, and had been trying to give her a little while longer to truly fall in love with him, and possibly ask him to be her mate. But his beast was through waiting, and if she felt the pull, he was going to take her. He inwardly groaned in disappointment when her tear-filled crystal blue eyes met his and she obviously felt nothing, while he felt the expected tug in his stomach. Damn it all to the bowels of hell, he'd sworn he wouldn't claim her until she was out of mourning! He'd sworn it on his tail!

"I won't hurt you, beloved," he finally whispered, dipping his head to brush his mouth over hers as gently as he could. "I would never harm what is mine."

Usagi swallowed and nodded slowly; for now she'd get him through this, then she'd address the fact that he'd just verbally staked his claim on her despite the fact that this was supposed to be a non-emotional arrangement. "Except for sex, I'm yours to do with as you will," she replied shakily.

The Saiyan nodded slowly as his tail removed her underwear and his hands slid her t-shirt over her head. Both articles of clothing whispered to the floor as he began to kiss her once more, slowly, gently, completely at odds with what she'd expected out of a hormone-driven alpha. And then she felt his tail pressing its entry once more, only this time it was like his kiss, tender and easy, worshipping her lazily.

Goku growled in approval when she moaned into his mouth and arched into him, hooking one of her legs with his to pull him flush against her. "That's it," he said, as his chest began to rumble in a contented purr, "come for me, woman." His lips descended to her breasts then. "Even If your mind doesn't know it, your body knows that you belong to me."

The angry response in her brain didn't make it to her mouth as he thrust into her a little harder, and the only thing that came out was a strangled moan that sounded like his name. That warmth was building low in her belly once more, and Usagi found herself digging her nails into his shoulders, dragging him up to kiss him once more, and crying out her pleasure as she finally threw her head back in rapture and tightened around his tail.

"Again," Kakarot purred into her neck, grinding his arousal into her hip. "I have dreamed of taking you like this, woman."

"Please, Kakarot, harder," she moaned softly, unable to keep herself from begging for more. Damn her pride at his posturing, the way he was speaking to her in order to assert his dominance, she wanted more, despite it all.

"No," he grunted in response, bending his head to nip at the scar of her first mark. "Like you said, woman. I have what you need. A pounding is not it."

###################

Usagi opened her eyes and nearly died of heart failure.

"Hey, Moon." Trunks couldn't help but chuckle as she dove into his arms and he caught her, and began to purr immediately when she started crying. "Shh, moon goddess, it's ok."

"I'm dead?" She choked out.

"Huh? Wha—oh dear Kami, no. This is a dream," Trunks replied gently. "Here, sit down, beautiful." He sat down on the floor of the white void they were standing in and tugged her to him tightly, cradling her in his lap. "It's a real dream," he added, when she pulled away and looked up at him. "I've been watching from King Kai's, and I conned Yemma into letting me do this. Just this once, though," he added seriously, "so I need you to listen, Moon."

"Stranger," she sobbed, "I miss you so much, please come back to me."

Trunks sighed and shook his head. "I can't, Moon, I'm sorry. And even if I did, you're his, now… I think. I'm not sure just how that would work out, and frankly, I wouldn't want to put any of us through that."

Usagi wiped at her eyes. "Then why are you here?"

"To tell you to let go, Moon. I know you're not Saiyan, so you'll continue to mourn. King Kai sounded fairly sure that you would mourn forever, when I asked him. It's the mating bond that's responsible for most of that, that's why you still haven't felt the pull for Goku, even though you're comforted and attracted to his scent. Your body's confused."

"Wait… are you telling me that Kakarot felt the fucking pull for me?" Usagi asked incredulously. She moaned and shook her head when Trunks nodded seriously. "Sweet Selene… so all this time that I've been… oh my God, poor Goku."

"Yeah, exactly. That's why I came, Moon. I know you're mourning me, but you need to stop it. You need to let go." At her sharp look, Trunks sighed and cupped her face, running his thumb over her lower lip. "Letting go is _not_ forgetting, Moon. I don't want you to forget. I want you to move on. I love you, I always will, but I'm not coming back. I can't come back. And you can't die, so we're sort of at an impasse."

Usagi nodded and sighed. "But I love _you_, Trunks. I don't love Kakarot."

"You were always a piss poor liar, Moon. You love him, you just can't even admit it to yourself." He bent his head and kissed her, something he'd dearly missed doing, even in death. Trunks couldn't help but purr happily when she returned it ardently, slipping her tongue into his mouth, and they simply kissed for a long time until he finally broke away. "I could do that for all of eternity," he whispered, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I know the feeling," she agreed, closing her eyes as she took in his scent. It wasn't the same as she remembered it though, it was comforting, yes, but it wasn't that intoxicating smell she remembered from when he'd been alive. "Why do you smell different, Stranger?"

"I don't," he replied flatly, "it's because you're his now. Even if you haven't formed a pair-bond. Which is what you need to do, Moon. When you wake up, I want you to let him take you, beloved. You'll feel the pull for him once there's an open pair-bond. And just so you know, I whole-heartedly approve of Goku being your mate. The only person I'd approve more is my own father." Trunks laughed when Usagi made a disgusted face. "He loves you, he'll protect you, and he'll make sure you're never unhappy. Father would be the only one that could ever do that better, and you know it."

"Ok, you're right about that, but the idea's still gross, Trunks. And it feels weird talking to you about this," she admitted.

"I know, I know." He kissed her tenderly, but pulled back when she pressed for more. "No, Moon, we don't have much time. Goku's starting to wake up, and he's still hormonal, so he's going to wake you, too. Now, I want you to do me another favor. When my father goes batshit crazy over all of this, you tell him about this dream, and you let him know that I approve of Goku. Now… you're starting to wake up, Moon." Trunks sighed and looked at her longingly. "I love you, Usagi."

"I love you, Trunks."

####################

Goku studied her carefully as she woke, and smoothed back her hair away from her face. "You were talking in your sleep. And crying." He was mostly in control once more, but his inner Saiyan was rising up again in fear that he'd hurt her somehow, either emotionally or physically, during the two hours of tailplay he'd put her through before he was sated enough to let her sleep.

"Trunks came to me," she whispered, reaching out to stroke his jaw. "He told me to move on." Usagi couldn't help but breathe in his scent when he tugged her to him tightly and purred comfort for his mate. "King Yemma let him come to me."

"Yemma's not a bad guy." Goku sighed and simply held her while she cried silently into his chest, the smell of her tears making sex the last thing on his mind, even though that's what he'd woken her for at first. "I felt the pull for you, you know. Months ago."

Usagi nodded, kissing his chest lightly. "Trunks told me. And I'm sorry, Kakarot. If I'd known, I would have never—"

"I know," he said quickly, cutting her off. "That was my fault, for thinking with my dick. The first time couldn't be helped, but I should have let it end there until you were ready."

"Kakarot, I'll never be ready." Usagi's hands moved soothingly up and down his back when he growled at her in anger and frustration. "It's because I'm not Saiyan, Kakarot. I won't feel the pull for you until there's an open pair-bond, because without it, I'll never stop mourning Trunks."

Goku licked his lips as his beast took over, bending his head to her shoulder to muzzle and lick at it. He moaned when she clutched at him and nodded, her hand going to his blonde spikes to cradle him to her. "Mine," he growled, and sunk his teeth deep into her shoulder, groaning at the taste of her.

"Yours," she whispered in defeat, ignoring the rush of pleasure that went through her body.

He could feel her anguish through his end of the bond, despite the fact that she hadn't bitten him back. "Bite me, beloved. It will make it better," he purred, tipping her chin up and offering his shoulder. Goku sighed when she tearfully nodded, but he knew that if Trunks was right, there was nothing he could do to make her feel better until they were mated. He shuddered when he felt her lips brush over the ruddy skin of his shoulder, followed by a scraping of her teeth.

Usagi swallowed, took a deep breath, and bit him hard, unable to help the moan of pleasure that erupted from her at the taste of the sun and the sensation of her mind and body twining with his.

"Need you, woman," he growled softly, unable to stop his beast from totally taking over. "Let me claim you, damn it."

Usagi nodded, trailing her lips up his throat, and moved her hips against his in surrender. "Look at me, first," she whispered.

Kakarot looked down and locked eyes with her, and made a possessive noise in the back of his throat when he felt her experience the pull through the bond. "All mine."

She nodded slowly. "I'm yours, Kakarot." Usagi licked her lips in anticipation when he rolled her onto her back and pressed into her folds, and raised her hips once more, telling him through the bond to take her. She could feel his need, could sense the burning through the bond, and knew he was only hesitating out of a fear of harming her, but he finally shuddered and purred with pleasure as he sunk into her warmth.

Kakarot nearly came just at the sound of her moaning softly as he slid home and began to move at a slow and leisurely pace, making her flex and tighten around him almost immediately. "Yes, Usagi. That's what you need. Come for me again, woman." He groaned as she tightened again, and couldn't help but thrust a little harder. "So good," he purred, "so right. All mine."

Usagi couldn't speak at that point, she was coming again, her mind gone totally white from the onslaught of pleasure in her body and through the bond, so she merely clutched at him and clamped down on his mark once more, telling him silently that she accepted his claim. She cried out loudly when she felt a flash of heat in her shoulder, followed by a rush of warmth as she came once more, and her vision went white, then black.

When she opened her eyes, she found a pair of worried green orbs staring at her intently, and felt the heat of the sun filling her body. She realized he was pulsing some of his ki into her, and let her eyes close once more as she simply enjoyed the sensation of having part of him—and not the physical part—inside of her. "That… that feels so wonderful, Kakarot." On a hunch, she slid a hand up his chest and pushed some of her own energy into him, invoking a soft purr from below her fingertips.

"You never did this before?" He sighed happily. She shook her head, and he nipped at her mark in response, pleased that he could be her first in something. "It sounds cliché, but with you, it's like we're joining the sun and the moon."

"My thoughts exactly," she mumbled. "Mmm… I passed out, didn't I?"

"Heh, yeah, that was kind of awesome," he chuckled. He'd come with her and had nearly passed out himself from the ridiculous level of pleasure, but since he'd been ascended, he'd managed to stay conscious. "You alright, beloved?"

"Fine," she whispered, still basking in the sensation of sharing their kis. His eyes still looked worried when she opened hers and looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Kakarot."

He bent his head and kissed her, conveying through the bond that he understood all too well what she was apologizing for, and that he didn't blame her in the slightest. "We're together now, Usagi. I'm your mate, and I swear I'll never let you regret it." He kissed her again, his purr intensifying as he felt her surrender to him through the bond. "I love you, Usagi. I love you so much." Goku could feel her hesitation to reply, and silenced her before she could speak. "I know, I know. Don't say it, beautiful. You'll say it when you're ready, and I'm fine with that."

Usagi nodded mutely, grateful for his understanding.

########################

Vegeta answered the vidphone the moment he saw Usagi's name pop up, and looked at her face in a mix of relief and concern. She didn't seem any worse for wear, at least. Tired, maybe, but not hurt. "Did he hurt you?" He asked, carefully keeping any emotion out of his voice. When she smiled, he nearly died of relief.

"I'm fine, Tousan. Just fine. I thought I'd warn you before he brought me back."

Vegeta blinked when she hung up, then turned his head as he felt her ki, as well as Kakarot's pop into the room. "Get the fuck out of my home, Kakarot," he snarled at the younger Saiyan, immediately slipping into a fighting stance.

He and Usagi exchanged a look, and when she nodded, he disappeared. "He didn't hurt me, Tousan. I'm fine." She sighed, completely unsurprised when he stepped forward and pulled her top to the side to bare the fresh bite mark on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tousan. It couldn't be helped."

"No," Vegeta growled, "_I'm_ sorry. I should have protected you from him. It's my duty as your father, Usa."

The look of sorrow on his face made her hug him tightly as she murmured words of comfort to him in Saiyan. "Shh, Tousan. I'm still your daughter, you know. Nothing will change that. He's not stealing me from you."

Kami, how did she know? Vegeta closed his eyes and relaxed into the embrace, trying not to choke at the scent of Kakarot all over his precious girl. "Just please don't get pregnant," he grumbled. "Give me some time to adjust to this before you tell me that you're giving me a grandbrat with that bears half of that fucktard's genes."

"I knew you'd understand," Usagi chuckled. "I love you, Tousan."

"Ugh. _That _word. Yes. _That _word, too."

**I don't know about yall, but I think that's a good spot to end the story in general. I hope yall enjoyed it, I will now go work on Attraction and TGS2… and you fangirls already got a fucking update for History today, so phhhhht! R&R yall!**


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